


Broken Memories || Volturi Kings

by MightyWallJericho



Series: Metonia Series (Broken Memories, Distilled Dreams) [1]
Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Bella Swan Bashing, Edward Cullen Bashing, Edward Cullen Being An Asshole, F/F, F/M, Hybrids, M/M, Mates, Multi, Nesting, Original Character(s), POV Original Character, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Romantic Soulmates, Scenting, Soulmates, The Volturi (Twilight) is Good, True Mates, Volturi, jasper cullen needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:13:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 112,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27247843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MightyWallJericho/pseuds/MightyWallJericho
Summary: Annalise Monroe has lived alone most of her life, travelling between foster homes since the age of six, and she is willing to do what it takes to keep it that way. When she moves to Forks after she is emancipated at the age of 17, she truly doesn't know what to expect.Annalise learned about the Cullens after Edward had slipped up in front of her. She has become quite good friends with them now. The stress is hard. Now, she not only has to worry about her future, but her humanity as well.When she gets dragged to Italy after Alice's vision of Bella dying, she gets to meet her mates. Unfortunately for the Cullens, they just so happen to be the three kings of the Volturi.What will the Cullens think of her mates?Mated to three, the Queen of Volterra doesn't even know how important she will be.
Relationships: Aro (Twilight)/Original Character(s), Caius (Twilight)/Original Female Character(s), Marcus (Twilight)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Metonia Series (Broken Memories, Distilled Dreams) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058948
Comments: 15
Kudos: 167





	1. Humans and Hunger Don't Mix

_Just get him out of there alive. Make sure that Edward doesn't do anything stupid. God, why does Edward always have to get himself in trouble? Why can't he just act like a normal vampire and understand that humans die sometimes? Like, I'll die when I grow old! I get that he loves Bella, but if he truly loves her then why would he leave? Why would you leave the one that you love most? If I found someone to love me forever then I would have never left them. Bella's all clammy and depressed without you, Edwardo, stop being broody and just ask her to marry you or something!_

I hold a rant session in my head that I am glad Edward is not here to hear right now. If I were much stronger than I am right now as a human, I would rip his head off and shove it in the fireplace. _I don't even want to get started on how Bella tried cliff jumping. Who the hell cliff jumps without proper gear and someone else there with you? The bitch could have just asked me for God's sake!_

"Alice, what's so bad about these Volturi guys anyways? They're just another vampire coven. Why do you guys always talk about them like they're evil and all powerful?" I ask Alice, who was thriving in the front seat. I had been forced to sit in the back seat, like usual.

"What's bad about them is that they drink human blood and kill anyone who doesn't agree with them. They have vampires with so many different powers. They rule over us, call themselves kings," Alice explains. I just shrug. _They just sound like every single human government in the history of all of the human governments. If they keep the vampires from killing everyone, they're alright in my book._

"What's so bad about killing humans, Alice, we suck. We kill this planet. If I became a vampire, I would probably be eating humans," I state proudly. Alice and Bella gasp as Alice stops the car in front of a building.

"How could you say that, Annalise! Nevermind, you just don't get it. You won't be eating humans if you stay with us. Not with the treaty. Bella, go and get him. Make sure that he doesn't go in the sun!" Alice orders Bella, who immediately goes and runs across the festival. I get out of the car and run after her, needing to see Edward as well. He would listen to us.

When we finally made our way to the building, Edward was about to expose himself.

"Edward, no!" Bella yelled, running herself into him, knocking them both down on the ground. I groaned and opened the door, waiting for them to get their dumb lovey asses inside. It was dangerous to be outside and near the sun when an anti-vampire festival was going on. They had a short chat, one that I didn't even bother to pay attention to. Bella and Edward were like family, but they had been getting on my nerves for a while now. First, Edward left without telling me. Then, Bella went into this depression because he left. Then, after all of that, they dragged me to Italy to stop Edward from killing himself. Call me a bitch, but I shouldn't have to worry about Edward's little suicidal trip when he was the one to lead Bella into her depression.

"So, can we go back home now? Done doing stupid things, Eddie boy?" I snark, my brown eyes cold as I look at Edward and Bella.

"Did you feed her?" Edward asks Bella. _Okay that explains my pissy mood. No food equals pissy Annalise. Food equals lovely Annalise. It's simple science._

"No, we didn't have time. I'm sorry, Anna, we'll get you food on the way home," Bella promises. I just roll my eyes, wanting nothing more than to get my ass out of Italy. I had always wanted to go here, maybe even to live here, but being here under these circumstances just spoiled the feelings of joy inside of me.

"Look who we have here?" I heard a male voice say. I turn my head, a scowl situated on my face as I look into the eyes of some really tall guy. _Does being a vampire turn your blood into fucking steriods? The fuck kind of blood does this guy drink? I swear to god._

"One suicidal vampire and two humans. I bet Master Aro would love to see this. Exposing our kind to not only one, but _two_ humans. You've gotten your wish, Cullen, you're going to die. Too bad your little human will as well," A much shorter man smirks at me. Alice turns up right behind us, causing me to yelp.

"I swear, you vampires are literally going to be the death of me. First, you tell me about you and break the law, then you get all suicidal on me, then I get dragged to Italy, then when dragging me to Italy you forget to feed me, then I get caught. Fuck my life," I swear at the world. The shorter man actually chokes out a laugh.

"Pixie, please turn this one, this kind of humor cannot die on me. Are you going to walk peacefully or are we going to have to drag you?" The man asks.

"Peacefully, I'm already in trouble as it is," I move myself towards the man without fear. He could have already killed me by now, but something tells me that he needs me for something. "Shall we, guys?"

It was peaceful. The walk to the throne room was short, us probably being within vampire hearing at the damn door we were at. _I wonder how they cover up all of their meals. Do they have janitors or are they just really clean? They must be sophisticated, I mean they live in a castle in Italy. If that doesn't scream sophistication then I have no clue what does. I wonder just how many bodies they have drained in their time here. They must not eat as much as humans. I know that the Cullens hunt quite a bit because animal blood can't sustain them for very long. I bet animal blood tastes gross._

_I bet Edward is reading my mind right now. I don't care what you are doing, Eddie boy, I am still entitled to my thoughts. These questions need answers. Tell me when we get back what you think. Ok, now you're giving me a look. You realize that I can still see you, right? My question is, how the hell do vampires have sex? Edward, don't even give me that look it was what everyone was thinking. Maybe not now, but that question has been asked more than once. I don't want to ask Carlisle, that would be weird. Ew, gross, get that out of my head._

When we reached the throne room, I allowed my friends in before me. Something about meeting super old and super powerful vampire kings just irked me. Maybe it was because I was a mere human in a room full of super old and super powerful vampires. We will never know.

"Ah, so this is the young Isabella," A man with long black hair starts with. I just stay next to Edward. Alice gasps as she stumbles forward. Aro gives her a concerned expression, "Is there something wrong?"

"Alice, did you have a vision?" Edward asks, looking at his sister. Alice nods her head quickly and looks at me. Alice must have thought something because Edward growls. "No, no that can't be right, Alice!"

"Young Edward, would you care to explain what the girl has just seen?" The older man takes no notice of me. I sigh and just wait. I was hungry and ready to die already. Alice looks over at me, her face filled with distress. The older man steps forward, looking at Alice before looking at me. Our eyes meet and I feel a pang in my chest as something inside of me snaps into place. It felt warm, comforting. _Is this some sort of gift? I don't remember anyone having a gift that makes you feel safe._

"It's not a gift, you're-" Edward starts, but the man cuts him off.

"My true mate. My, you are a beauty. Are these people your friends?" I nod quickly, not moving a muscle as he moves closer to me. "I promise that I will not hurt you, il mio amore."

"Aro," a man with shorter brown hair says quietly.

"Yes, Marcus?" The man in front of me, _Aro,_ looks to this other man, _Marcus. Why did Cullen not give me a good enough history lesson? I don't even know their names!_

"While your clear true mate bond has snapped in with her, Caius and I's have not," Aro looked quite puzzled, but allowed Marcus to speed over to me. The blonde one, _Caius,_ soon follows.

Marcus gently put his hand on my chin, moving it up so that I could look up at him, into those red eyes. I felt a similar snap occur with him.

"What the hell are you doing to her?!" Bella exclaims, holding onto Edward. The warm feeling inside of my chest makes me let out a giggle. Edward glares at the men and tries to run at them, failing because one of the guards held him back. It was the tall one on steroids.

"Marcus is allowing his bond to snap in with her. He has the ability to see the bonds between people. He is able to see who people are mated to. It seems that your friend, Isabella, is our true mate, our Queen. To be so close with such an influential figure in the vampire world as a human is a great honor, Isabella," Aro explains before turning back to me. _Being surrounded by hot vampire men isn't even that bad._

"She can't be your mate! She isn't cruel and evil like you, Aro! She would never join you," Edward sneers at Aro before turning to me, "Annalise, you can reject the bond and come back with us," Edward suggests. I turned to the tall blonde and confidently put my hand on his cold cheek, gazing into his red eyes.

As the final bond snapped into place, I finally felt like I was at peace, like everything inside of me had been put together. Realizing that I had my hand on a very dangerous vampire, I pulled my hand back into my pocket and bit my lip anxiously.

"Il mio amore, you have two options right now. You can either leave here and return to Forks, Washington and reject the mating bond," Aro grimaced as he spoke of rejection, "Or you can stay here in Italy, stay with us and become the Queen. You can choose when you want immortality, if you are here you will be under our watch. If you stay you will have the bonds grow stronger."

"Annalise, come back home with us. You don't have to go with them and eat humans," _Did Bella literally not hear what I said earlier? If I became a vampire, I would want to eat people rather than eat animals. I respect everyone's diets, why can't she respect theirs? They're my mates for god's sake!_

"Anna, you can't mean that! Why would you think of eating people? That's so wrong!" I frown and cross my arms.

"You know what, that's what people say about eating animals! That's what vegans say! Why can't we all just respect each other's diets? I don't want to be hungry all of the time! If these men are my mates then I want to be with them!"

"I thought that you were good! I thought that you wanted to do good in this world! If you accept the bond with those monsters, Bella and I will never forgive you. You step one foot towards them right now and you are just as bad, just as evil. Aro kills who he needs to kill to stay in power. He is cruel and manipulative. He will never love you. He doesn't love anyone," Edward accuses. Bella frowns and shakes her head at me.

"He's my mate! How could you say that about my mate? You're supposed to be my friend. You're supposed to be supportive of me. If he's a monster because he's killed then so are you. Oh wait, you literally shit on Vampirism daily. Why can't you just see past your own views on things? Not everything is going to be the way that you want!" I yell at my friends, if I could even call them that anymore.

Caius came up to me and put his hand on my head, running his cold pale fingers through my hair. "There is no need to get upset over these people. If they wish to be friends with you then they will accept you for who you become and for all of who you are," Caius reassures me. I nod.

"Now, I believe that Annalise will be staying with us," Aro looks to me for confirmation. I nod my head quickly. Bella and the two Cullens gasp. I could hear the guard that laughed at my annoyance quietly cheer.

"Demetri, please take Annalise to Marcus' chambers. Make sure that nobody is inside and that nobody comes in to disturb her. We will continue from here," Caius orders. The shorter man came up to me and motioned me out of the room.

_Well, this shit just got interesting._


	2. Angry Wives and Silk Sheets

The bedroom that I had been sent into felt more like a library than a bedroom. Books lined the walls. There were no gaps in the shelving. Everything was in perfect order. Some of these books have to be as old as vampires themselves. This is not normal paper. I wonder what they used to use for paper way back when. I bet that books were hard to come by. Hell, nobody even knew how to read and write back then. The kings must have been pretty rich to get their hands on books during this era.

"My queen, you have been standing there for a while. Is there something wrong with King Marcus' chambers?" Demetri pulls me out of my trance.

"No. Of course not. There's just so many books. I don't even think I've read this many books in my life and I'm a huge bookworm. Almost read the entire library in Forks while I was there. Lived in that town for six months. Do you read?" I ask the vampire guard.

"Sometimes. It depends on what there is to read. I've read almost every book in the library, but only some of them have truly caught my eye. None of them are in English, so I wouldn't expect you to be able to understand them," Demetri tells me. He closed the door behind him and locked it. "I promise that I'm only keeping you here for your own protection. We have a few newborn guard members at the moment. They're volatile and deadly. I could take them, but I would rather not put you in danger, my queen."

"Jasper told me about newborns. They sound awful. What a terrible time, being hungry most of the time," I lay down on the large blue bed at the center of the room. "Why does everything in here smell so good? Like, everything smells like heaven."

"I do believe that is because King Marcus is your true mate. His room just smells like him. He will be pleased to know that you accept his scent and like it as much as you do. You can do whatever you please here as long as you don't ruin his books. He's obsessed with books, he thinks that knowledge is power. I think power is power. Don't tell him that I said that, though, he would make me run laps around this castle until even my immortal stamina runs out." I laugh, sprawling myself out on the pillows, rubbing my face into them.

"I have finally found peace," I moan dramatically into the pillow. Demetri laughs, sitting down on a chair. A knock came from the door. I thought that nobody was supposed to disturb the quarters of a king. Don't they know that Marcus is in trial with Aro and Caius? I guess it isn't as formal as I thought. Guess anyone knocks at any hour.

"I'll get that," Demetri tells me and uses his speed to get to the door and open it just wide enough to be able to see who was outside. "What are you doing here, Supicia? Marcus is in trial today. Cullen problem. You should have been notified."

A low, feminine voice responds with, "I smell a human inside of this room. It isn't one of those stupid receptionists either. This human is new. Smells absolutely delicious." I swallow back a gulp as she talks about me like I'm some piece of meat. I guess I am some mighty fine food then. Honored, Sulpicia, whoever the hell you may be. Just don't eat me, though, that wouldn't be very nice.

"Do not speak about her that way. I guess now that you have sensed her, I may as well tell you. The official announcement will be in a few minutes anyway. The woman inside of this room is our queen," Demetri does not use my name as he speaks about me to this woman, Sulpicia.

"Our queen? Has Marcus finally found his true mate after all of these years? Finally come out of this little depression of his. All he ever does now is sulk around his room and read," I growl from where I lay on the bed. This girl really is rude. Don't talk about people like that. He must be depressed for a reason. Something bad probably happened.

"Yes, Marcus, Caius, and Aro have finally found their true mate, Sulpicia. It is a relief, they had all started to drift. You should have seen their faces when they looked at her. I don't think I have ever seen such happiness. Marcus even smiled at her. Our new queen has some fire in her as well," Demetri opens the door just a little bit more. I could still not see this woman. I needed to give her a chance. She is a part of this coven. If I am going to be dealing with her for the rest of eternity then I am going to make an effort. Trust issues need to be put aside, Annalise. This is your chance to make good first impressions. Demetri seems to like you, you can win over more people as well. You can't be that bad.

"Did you say Aro found his true mate, Demetri?" The woman sounds less than impressed. Oh, does she have a crush on him or something. I wouldn't be mad if you did, Sulpicia. I wouldn't even be mad if he was your boyfriend. It happens. If you really love him you'll be happy for him. We can still be friends if you want. Damn, that would suck though. Feel for you, babes, but he's mine now.

"Yes, that is correct Sulpicia, Aro has found his true mate. The woman inside of here is our queen. She is mated to all three of our kings. I do believe you know what that means. You did make an agreement. It was bound to happen at some point, Aro is over 3000 years old," Demetri makes sure that the door is heavily guarded as he speaks to Sulpicia. I could hear shuffling in the hallways.

"Sulpicia, the Kings have requested everyone's presence in the throne room. Are you coming, Demetri, or am I going to have to cover your elite guard ass again?" A man said from outside the room. "Is that a human I smell in the King's quarters? Didn't know he ate in there."

"She is not food, Afton. I'm guarding her on the orders of the kings. Go, I already know about what's going on. I'll meet up with you and Felix later," Demetri tells him. Afton scoffs. I could hear Sulpicia let out a long sigh.

"Aro is my husband. He would never leave me, even if he did find his mate. He will soon realize that a human mate isn't the same. Did she just come in?" Yeah, I think not, bitch. I don't give a shit if you two are married, the bond that I felt with him is stronger than anything you could have had with him. Why the hell do I care what she thinks of me? Aro wouldn't reject a soulmate bond. Who the hell would reject a soulmate bond? I wouldn't. I'm not an idiot. Aro has gained enough power in the vampire world that I have to assume he's pretty smart.

"He will leave you, Sulpicia. Caius will leave Athenodora as well. I can see it in his eyes. Don't try anything stupid. The kings will still allow you to stay in the coven if you treat your new queen with respect," Demetri warns. Sulpicia lets out a menacing giggle.

"What, have you grown attached to the human? Worry not, once Aro takes a good look at her and realizes that she is a human he will come running back to me. It is just the first click of the bond that has gotten him in a flurry. What is it with you calling me Sulpicia, Demetri, I hold my place as one of the Queens of the Volturi. You treat this girl like a Queen, yet the real Queen is standing right in front of you, is she not?"

"No, she is being guarded by me. Unless you wish to be reprimanded by your future ex husband for being late you will run along, go and play queen somewhere else, Sulpicia. You are not my queen. The guard will soon realize who their real queen is and disown you for your disrespect towards her. You do realize that she can hear you right now. I am surprised she has held her tongue for this long, if I were being treated like this by one of my coven mates I would have already ripped into them," Demetri sneered. Sulpicia huffed. I heard her heels clicking down the hallway. Damn, why does she have to be so rude? What did I do? Exist? I didn't get to choose my mates! Those were already chosen for me! Sorry that my mate just so happened to be your husband! Maybe you shouldn't have married someone that wasn't your mate!

"Do you think that he would break the bond to stay with her? She's been here much longer than me," my head was hit with a sudden sense of insecurity as my heart hurt. To even think of my mate rejecting me hurt. I didn't even know what that would do to me, what it would mean for him or how it would affect my relationship with the coven.

"Don't you think for a second that you would lose to that wench. I have no clue what King Aro saw in her. Perhaps she was different when she met him. I have been here for about 900 years, and that woman has never been my favorite. Most of the guard hates her with a burning passion. She flaunts around her title, and uses Aro as a threat. I think that she has been on thin ice with Aro for a while now. Athenodora has been on thin ice with Caius. I can often hear them arguing in the tower. Sulpicia wants power, being married to Aro gave her that. If you think that Sulpicia was rude, you should meet Athenodora. I hope that she doesn't give you a hard time, but I think that my hopes will be proven futile. As much as those two fight, Athenodora is madly in love with Caius. I do not think that any of the kings will reject you, but you will be in for a fight with their exes. I can protect you from any physical attacks, but a verbal attack cannot be blocked by any of the guards. For that, I am deeply sorry, my queen," Demetri apologizes.

"Demetri, do not apologize for something that you cannot control. You are not responsible for the actions and behavior of another person. Not your friends and not your family. I think that I can take on a few crazy exes," I chucked, getting up from my mate's comfortable bed. "Can we get some food. Alice never fed me. I don't think I can deal with vampire ex wives and ex queens on an empty stomach."

"Shit, she didn't, did she? You said that was why you were in a pissy mood. Well, I'll take you to the kitchens. We have some human servants that live here, that know about us. The good ones turn and become our vampire maids," Demetri opens the door for me. "Coming, my queen? Nobody should be in the halls. Everyone is being informed of your arrival to the Volturi. You will be safe in the main halls."

I walked towards the door, Demetri motioning me out. Taking a deep breath, Demetri walked me to the kitchens. Ok, so I haven't died yet. Annalise one, inevitable death zero.


	3. Like a Shrill Harpy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Mi dispiace, mia signora, non parlo molto bene l'inglese. Conosci l'italiano? I'm sorry, my lady, I don't speak English very well. Do you know italian?
> 
> Sì, posso parlare italiano. Mi dispiace di averti incontrato. Comunque, sono venuto qui per prendere del cibo. Non voglio creare problemi. Yes, I can speak Italian. I'm sorry I bumped into you. Anyway, I came here to get some food. I do not want to create problems.
> 
> Va tutto bene, mia signora. Ci sono rimaste delle lasagne di ieri sera. Ti piacerebbe questo? It is alright, my lady. We have some lasagna left from last night. Would you like that?

To say that the kitchens were huge would be an understatement, the literal understatement of the year. The kitchens were bigger than any room that I had ever seen, most likely bigger than the apartment that I had been staying in while in Forks. How many human servants does this place have? Do they have hundreds of humans around here? Wait, is this place just this big so that the Volturi can look fancy and rich? I mean, they are fancy and rich but that isn't the point! If this place is readily stocked and they don't have many humans living here then it'll be a waste of food! Don't waste food, Volturi!

"What is it that you wish to eat. We have almost everything in here and the chefs can make you a special order if you want something that has not already been made," Demetri says, his feet stopping at the entrance of the kitchens.

"Why aren't you coming inside? Are vampires not allowed in the human kitchens?" I ask, curious of the matter of human-vampire relations within the coven and the castle.

"We are not supposed to go in the kitchens unless necessary as it makes the human workers quite anxious. They know about us and know how we eat. It is not advisable for a vampire to go into these kitchens as if one of the kitchen staff has an accident, like one involving a blade, a less controlled and younger Volturi guard member might attack. We would rather not have to explain that one to the humans here. Having traumatized staff does not look good for the coven. Imagine what would happen if other covens found out that our guards didn't have as much control as we claim they do, we would lose standing in the vampire world. We will only be respected if we have control of ourselves," Demetri explains, still standing at the door. I nod my head in understanding and go deeper inside.

I accidentally bump into a young woman with black hair. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to run into anyone while in here! I promise, I'm not one of the vampires!" I exclaim, hoping not to make enemies with the kitchen staff that would be making my meals just yet.

"Mi dispiace, mia signora, non parlo molto bene l'inglese. Conosci l'italiano?" The woman asks in Italian, one of the many languages that I can speak.

"Sì, posso parlare italiano. Mi dispiace di averti incontrato. Comunque, sono venuto qui per prendere del cibo. Non voglio creare problemi," I tell her in Italian.

"Va tutto bene, mia signora. Ci sono rimaste delle lasagne di ieri sera. Ti piacerebbe questo?" She asks. I nod my head before thanking her in Italian. Well, now I know that learning 5 languages has its uses. I didn't know that I would actually end up living in a huge castle in Italy. I must have done something pretty nice in my past life to be treated to this luxury. Seriously, I get good food, a castle, a coven of vampires as my family, and three vampire king mates? Ok, I had to have been Ghandi or someone like that. Nobody gets this lucky.

It seems that my luck was cut short as I heard commotion in the hallway. The young woman with straight black hair put down the plate of hot lasagna before running away. Where? I had no clue. I heard screaming and yelling in the hallway. I turned back only to find Demetri right in front of me, guarding me from some unknown danger.

"My queen, I promise you that you are protected. I am afraid that Atheodora has not taken kindly to her husband having a true mate. I will make sure that she does not hurt you. Make sure to stay behind me, she can get nasty sometimes," Demetri informs me of who exactly was causing the commotion. Oh yeah, these guys technically have wives. Kinda understand the anger. At the same time, you can't be mad at your husband for finding his soulmate. Athenodora, kindly calm the fuck down and cry it out somewhere. Shit, vampires can't cry. Well, dry sob it out somewhere that isn't near me, I don't think I'll be able to help you.

"You can't be with her, Caius! You're my husband! I have stood by your side for three millennia. You are my mate!" The woman who I could assume was Athenodora shrieked.

"Athenodora, do not cause a scene. You are allowed to stay in this coven because I know how much it means to you. We are over. We have fought like mad for the last three decades! You know that we are not mates. My mate is here in the castle, getting something to eat. It has been a long journey and that trial was not a kind one. Please, step aside before I make you," I could hear Caius warn his ex-wife. She screamed.

I poked my head out only to see Athenodora at the door. I could see why the young human woman had left, seeing an angry vampire was scary. I shrunk in my seat, hiding behind Demetri who guarded me protectively. For the love of god, if this woman tries to take a bite out of me I will order her fucking imprisonment like she were a human.

"Athenodora, do not even think of attacking your queen. If you do, you will be immediately destroyed. Master Caius is giving you a chance. I believe that Queen Annalise would give you a chance to live in this coven peacefully as long as you don't harass her for being mated to your now ex-husband. She had no choice in this mating matter," a young looking teenager said to the enraged woman. I swear if being a vampire is like the vampire diaries where all of your emotions are heightened I am going to be very scared-

My thoughts were cut off by Athenodora's shrill voice, "She has accepted the bond! Caius, you can't just accept this bond with this young girl. She will never love you the way that I do."

"At this point, I think that will be a good thing, Athenodora. She is the queen, our queen, my queen. You were never queen because you were never my mate. Annalise is not only my mate, but Aro and Marcus' mate as well. She completes us. Why can you not get that through your head?" Caius stayed calm even when Athenodora was fuming.

I stood up, still behind Demetri, but now able to see the scene clearly. She really is pretty. Then again, all the vampires I have seen have been unreasonably attractive. Even the older ones. What the hell is up with that?

Pushing past Demetri's large arm, I stand in clear view of the door. Looking at Caius, I smile at him. He smiles back, pushing past everyone to come near me. So I guess that no-vampires-in-the-kitchen rule doesn't apply to the king of the vampires. Demetri allows my mate to be near me, moving to the side.

My mate gave me the warmest smile I had ever seen in my life. I let out a giggle. Damnit, Annalise, what is it with you and giggling in front of your mate? Do you want to look like an idiot? These guys are hella hot! You shouldn't be fawning, even if they are your sexy vampire mates!

"I am sorry that you had to see that, il mio amore. I promise that I will never leave you. You are my true mate, the missing piece to my soul. I pledge myself to you, my queen Annalise of the Volturi. Please, become our one true queen?" Caius' proposition and question sounded more like a plea than a question.

"How could you! How could you do this to me! After everything you're going to leave me for some human woman? I love you, Caius, I always have and I always will! That girl doesn't know anything about you! She won't want you once she does, Caius! I am the only one who will ever want you! I am the only woman that you will ever love!" Caius growls at his ex, who then runs over and pushes him out of the way. Demetri growls and moves me behind him protectively.

"Get away from her, Athenodora," Demetri growls at Athenodora, who hisses.

"It was supposed to be me and him for all of eternity! He loved me! Now he just looks at me like he does any other girl. I'll make you pay for what you did!"

"She will not pay for anything, Athenodora, as she has done nothing wrong. Since you cannot seem to be able to control yourself, I will have to do what I never thought I would have to do. Athenodora, you are barred from this community. You are no longer my wife. You are a nomad. You have no home here. Pack your bags. I never want to see you here again. The Volturi do not welcome you here. I swear to the gods, if you try and attack my mate or hiss at my guards again I will kill you myself. I will rip you limb from limb!" Caius roars at the woman, grabbing her by the arms. Athenodora screams and cries out, attempting to fight back against my mate.

More people had come to see what was going on. The blonde woman had made such a huge fuss that she must have alerted the entire castle, including my other mates.

Two figures ran into the kitchens. Marcus and Aro. "Tesoro, what happened here? Are you okay, il mio amore?" Aro asked, placing his cold hand on my cheek.

"Aro, I'm fine. Maybe a little bit spooked, but Demetri and Caius handled it. If you didn't hear, Athenodora was really mad at me. Sulpicia wasn't very happy with my arrival earlier, but she didn't do something like this. She was just really rude to me and said that you would reject me," I admitted, not wanting to keep anything from him.

"Cara mia, I would never reject you. You are my mate. Sulpicia should know better, should have better control of that silver tongue of hers. I promise that she will not speak to you like that again. If she disrespects you, please just tell me. I do not wish to be invasive, but there are things that I would wish to know," I frown at his words. Invasive?

"Okay, I have no clue what you're on about now, what do you mean by invasive? Do you have a gift like Edward that makes you able to read my mind or something?" I laugh awkwardly. Aro just gives an awkward smile. "Oh god, you do? Have you been reading my mind this whole time?"

"No, cara mia, I have not been reading your mind this whole time. I have complete control over my gift. I do not just read people's thoughts without their permission like Edward seems to do. My gift is tactile telepathy. I can read all of someone's thoughts and memories with just one touch. I have not used my gift on you. Most find it very invasive. I would not wish to betray your trust in that way, even if I would like to see everything," Aro admits.

"I understand that gifts are a part of people. I wouldn't blame you if you had, just so you know. I have a lot of things that I consider personal. I'll tell you at some point, when I get more comfortable. So for now, no tactile telepathy with me. I'm sorry that-" Aro cuts me off.

"I don't have to use my powers on you if you do not wish for me to. I understand that you may not be used to sharing everything that you've ever seen and thought with someone you just met. Just know that I will always be here to listen. If I have to wait for the rest of eternity for you to be ready for anything, I will. I have waited for three millenia, I can easily wait for three more."

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Aro. You know, you lot are a whole lot different than Edward and Alice made you out to be. They act like you're all monsters. Honestly, I think that they're the monsters for not giving you guys a chance. Everyone has a different diet. They act like they're better for eating a certain way. Well, not all of them act better. Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper try to correct them," I explain. Aro nods.

"Carlisle was with the Volturi for a few decades a long time ago. I consider him to be quite a good friend of mine. I was surprised to hear how his children view me. Never has a vampire called me a monster and an unloving person to my face. I hope you know that I am nothing of the sorts," I nod.

"Marcus, do you have a gift as well?" I ask.

"Yes, I do have a gift. I am able to see the bonds between people. The sight is not always on and I can turn it on and off at will like Aro can with his gift. Our bond burns a bright gold, a sign that both parties have accepted the bond. The bond burns this color with Aro and Caius as well. It seems that you have accepted us fully within the first three hours of you being here. I am happy to see it, cara mia, as I have been waiting for you my entire immortal life," Marcus kisses the top of my head. I melt under his touch.

"We should let our mate get some sleep, brother. Today has been quite eventful for Annalise," Aro suggests. Marcus nods and looks to Demetri.

"I assume that you will be taking the job as her personal guard. You two have quite the strong bond already," Marcus says to Demetri who just nods his head. "Then you shall be appointed to her personal guard. Please, Demetri, take our mate to my chambers. Also, do schedule the construction of Annalise's own chambers, she should have her own space right now."

"Of course, Master Marcus, right away," Demetri turns back to me, "Come, my Queen, humans need sleep and you are still very much human."


	4. Overgrown Cats

For the night, I was back in the library that was Marcus’ chambers. The multitude of books had grown on me already. Although I was too tired to read any of them, I picked out a select few that I would find time to read during the next few days, as I would likely be alone for hours at a time while my mates were doing their thing in trials. In many ways I was proud of who my mates were. They respected the law, something that I respected just as much. During my youth I had wanted to become a lawyer and then a judge. Now my dream would be coming true, I would just be dealing with vampire law rather than human law.

The bed that Marcus had was heavenly. While I much preferred the color purple to blue, the royal blue bed just fit Marcus so well. The entire room had the color scattered around, hinting that it was in fact his favorite color. That night I got the best night of sleep of my entire human existence.

The next morning would be the first morning in the castle, and the morning that I would likely be meeting most of the coven for the first time. No matter how much Demetri assured me that the coven would love me, I could not be convinced. From how much Sulpicia and Athenodora seemed to hate me, I could tell that vampires had a certain way of hating any human that came in between them and their usual life. I could only help that the change I brought with me would be positive and not negative.

The guards were lined up against the walls of the room that we were scheduled to be meeting in. As I walked through the old double doors, I could see the guards stop talking amongst each other and look to Demetri and I.

“Guards, this is the Queen Annalise of the Volturi. She is our Masters’ true mate. You all know about the true mate bond and some of you have even found your true mates. While you are required to keep the queen safe from physical attacks, it has come to my attention that the former wife of our Master Aro, Sulpicia, has made some crude remarks towards the mating bond between our Queen and her King. Now, this is not an order of attack, just an order by our king to inform him of any remarks made by Sulpicia. Between us guards, I know that we hate the bitch, but Aro has not kicked her out like Caius has kicked Athenodora out, which means that we will have to stay civil towards her. We all hate her, Marcus knows that through his bond sight, but we will remain civil so that we can keep our jobs and our heads. Understand?”

A chorus of yes Demetri went through the room. The guards just stood there, looking at me, without actually saying anything to me or each other. Damn, is this what it’s like to be a guard? Just sit there and hope nobody hears you say anything? They must do other things with their immortal lives?

“Okay, so is everyone going to sit here like a bunch of statues or are we going to talk about something?” I say, putting my hands in my pockets. The guards looked like they wanted to laugh, but would be killed if they did. Demetri chuckled beside me.

“My queen, the guards are not used to someone of your stature wanting to talk to them like a friend during a formal meeting. Guards, the queen is friendly, I promise. She won’t kill you for laughing at her jokes during a meeting,” Demetri laughs at the guards who just continued to stare at me. Some of the guards’ faces softened slightly.

  
“You heard Demetri, guys, there is no need for your dead faces. Shit, we are all dead, aren’t we?” A man whose voice I could have sworn I’d heard before said. _The guy from when I was still in Marcus’ quarters!_

  
“Do kindly shut the fuck up, Afton,” a girl with long blonde hair says. Her face was cute, but her eyes told me that she was less than innocent. She looked like she could torture someone just by looking at them.

  
“Janey-painey is at it again, I see. Jane, why is it that you act so mean in front of the queen? Do you not want to get on her good side?” Afton teases the girl, who looks at him. Jane mutters something and Afton drops to the floor, squirming in pain. Jane just smiles. The boy that was outside with Athenodora before just shakes his head in his hands. Demetri looks beyond pissed.

  
“Jane! Let Afton go from your torture power! You shouldn’t act like such a child in front of the queen yet!” Demetri reprimands Jane before turning to me, “I am sorry about that, queen Annalise, Jane usually uses her gift on Afton at least once a day. You would think that he learns not to piss her off, but I think that you can guess that Afton has zero ability to keep his mouth shut,” Demetri glares at Afton before snarking, “Why do the Volturi keep you again?”

  
“Cause’ I’m Chels’ true mate,” Afton says with pride.

  
“I wasn’t looking for an answer, Afton. God, get with the program, Afton,” Demetri rolls his eyes. “Does anyone here have any questions for our queen? And no, Afton, you can not get a raise or a slippy slide out in the gardens. Aro tells you no every single year.”

  
“Damnit,” Afton complains.

  
“When are you going to turn into one of us?” A blonde girl asks. Damn, she’s pretty.

  
“I actually have no clue. I just got here yesterday because my kind of ex-friend was going to kill himself because he thought his ex-girlfriend had killed herself because he dumped her. I think they’re together now. That was the Cullen trial. Turns out that they hate me because I’m in your coven now,” I rambled.

  
“Well, fuck them then,” Afton says honestly. “If they hate you because you’re now an all powerful queen of vampires then I think they aren’t worth your time. I mean, who wouldn’t want the queen of the vampires as their friend? Dumbasses.”

  
“Afton! Language!” Demetri exclaims.

  
“I mean, the kid isn’t wrong, Demetri. Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking about it as well. Afton is just stupid enough to say everything he says aloud,” A dark skinned man says.

  
“I know he isn’t wrong, I just don’t want queen Annalise to think that we’re all as stupid and vulgar as Afton,” Demetri looks to me, “I assure you, my queen, Afton is the dumbest of us all.”

  
“Demetri, while that may be true, my mates keep him around for a reason that may be unclear to you, but is clear to me. Clearly Afton cheers everyone up. He has a funny bone in his body, unlike most of the Cullens if I’m being honest. You guys don’t have to be all formal around me. The Volturi are a coven, a family. Just because I have some sort of authority over things doesn’t mean you have to always be on your toes. I would rather we be friends. Even if I am now your queen through my being mates with the kings, that just means that I am a queen to the rest of the vampires. To you, I am just Annalise, a member of the coven. Please, drop the title, it’s bad for my ego,” I ask.

  
“Do you really mean that my - I mean Annalise?” the blonde girl asks.

  
“I do. I don’t know how you guys have been treated, but from now on I want the titles to drop around me. I will make sure that my mates don’t kill you or harass you about it, as well. I have a feeling that the former wives were not treating you very well,” I look around and everyone nods quickly, “and that just isn’t okay. We are all a part of the same coven. Even if I may not like Edward and Alice right now, from what I saw inside of their coven, they acted like a family. They are a family. You guys seem to act like that towards each other. I don’t know what hierarchy goes on around here but I am no part of it. You are going to be treated as my equals, no matter what happens. What’s your name, Blondie?” I ask.

  
“Corin. My name is Corin. Over there is Jane,” She points to Jane, who still looks a bit annoyed with Afton, “and next to her is her twin brother Alec. The big burly guy is Santiago and - where is your other half, Demetri?” Corin asks my personal guard.

  
“In trial with the kings and Renata. I think that these people may have a chance. When I saw Caius earlier I could have sworn I saw him smile,” The entire room seemed to freeze.

  
“Did you just say that you saw Master Caius smiling. I didn’t think it was possible for him to smile. I don’t believe it. Let me guess, you also saw Master Marcus smile. Come on, even Afton can think of a better story,” Santiago says to Demetri, who just shrunk back and looked to me for confirmation.

  
“Uhm, well, he is very capable of smiling. It’s kind of cute actually,” I laugh awkwardly.

  
“Yeah, you found it so cute that you started giggling like a maniac. I swear, it was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever seen our master do. You wouldn’t believe what I saw Master Marcus do either if you don’t believe that Master Caius can smile,” Demetri challenges Santiago.

  
“Bring it on, tracker boy,” Santiago responded with. Oh boy, what did Marcus do that they’re going to find insane or impossible?

  
“Guys, when Annalise started giggling at everything Caius was doing, Marcus did actually smile. It was a big ass smile. I swear, I’m not lying. It scared the shit out of me. Has anyone here even seen that man smile before?” The rest of the room shakes their heads. “Exactly. I think that things are going to get better

around here now that those three are happy. Damn, happy and Marcus are not two things that I am going to get used to seeing together. I’m never getting used to a smiling Caius as well.”

  
“We all said that about a giggling Aro, but here we are,” Corin comments.

  
“I haven’t gotten used to that,” Afton retorts.

  
“Neither have I,” Santiago replies.

  
“Okay, so maybe we’ll never get used to that. We should, we’re about to see a hell of a lot more of it. I swear, I’m glad that I don’t have to stay in trial with them. If I see Marcus smile, I think we might see the first immortal faint,” Corin laughs.

  
“Is everyone seriously that dramatic about a smile or giggling. Is giggling around your true mate really that uncommon? They just make me melt for some reason,” I question.

  
“Honestly, no,” Afton says. “Chelsea constantly giggles at me when she stares at my handsome face. True mate males have that effect on women. It scares the shut out of me sometimes. I’ll be working on something in our room and I just hear this giggle come from the bed. I’m just doing paperwork and BOOM giggles from the bed.”

  
“And I thought Renata’s purring was weird,” Alec says. “Why the hell does she purr? Are we cats or something?”

  
“I mean, I’ve heard about things like Children of the Moon are dogs and vampires are cats. It may explain why we hate them so much. That stench,” Jane looks less than impressed by the memory.

  
“Don’t tell Caius I said this, but when I first saw him he reminded me of a pissed off cat. He was so ready to pounce once Bella and Edward started to talk about me rejecting the mating bond. I heard Athenodora hiss at me as well. I think that I’m going to turn into a giggling kitty cat,” I say dramatically.

  
“Well, let’s just be a coven of cats then,” Afton says back, just as dramatic. Vampire cats it is!


	5. Sometimes Letters Aren't Appreciated

For the last three hours, I had been spending time in the guards’ main hangout area. Most of the guards had stayed away from me, even when I had told them that I was friendly and joked that they had a worse bite than me. Even if it was slightly unnerving just how quickly they moved around the room, they did not seem as cruel or fierce as the Cullens had made them out to be.

From what I had been told of the Volturi, they were human-hating monsters. Now, I knew that this idea of them was just plain false. They did not hate me because I was human. Not one of the guards had made a comment about my humanity. Sometimes they would ask questions about being a human, but they did not act like they hated humans in general. Vampires were just higher up on the food chain. Humans are what they eat and it would be foolish to blindly hate your food without getting to know them.

“Queen Annalise, is it true that humans have to learn in the span of a 6 hour school day? Is that how it works all over the world, or is that just how it works in the Americas?” I laughed at Alec’s question.  _ Oh lord, he looks like a kid who would go to school. Maybe like 15 at the oldest. He would be in Freshman year or would still be in middle school. _

“Yes, Alec, we are forced into classrooms for 6 to 7 hours every day of the workweek. We have about 1 hour per class and must do work for that class. We have different teachers in middle and high school in America. Honestly, I hated the place. Most kids hate it. We have so much unnecessary work that we have to do  _ after  _ the school day is over. You would think that we would only have work during school, but we have  _ homework.  _ It’s the bane of every child’s existence,” I explain. Alec and Jane look shocked, probably curious about how I survived such a hell.

“Come on, Alec, did you seriously not know about school? Most vampires know about school!” Afton remarks. Alec frowns at the man and sticks out his tongue. “Oh, really mature. Who would know that a member of the  _ elite guard  _ would be so immature.”

“Play nicely, Afton,” a blonde woman says.

“Chels, you know that I have no capacity to  _ play nicely  _ with dear Alec. He’s too easy to rile up,” Afton smirks.  _ Oh, so this is his true mate. The one who giggles at him like I giggle at Caius and Aro. I bet I’m going to end up giggling at Marcus and freak him out just like Chelsea freaks out Afton. _

“Why do you have to rile up an elite guard member, Afton? Not only is Alec an elite guard member, but Jane scares the shit out of everyone she sees. Yeah, Jane, you’re a scary bitch. One scary ass bitch,” Santiago turns to Jane who was giving a rare smile. Santiago looked back and just whispered, “Please, for the love that is holy, never make me see that woman smile again. It’s almost as scary as Caius’. Sadistic people have the same smiles.”

“He never learns. Sister, don’t scare poor Santiago, he has yet to do anything to warrant such a smile from you,” Alec tries to diffuse his twin, who would often give off a scary vibe.  _ I can’t tell if powerful vampires give off a bad vibe or just use their power to scare the shit out of people. Either way, I would rather not find myself on Jane’s bad side. I saw that torture power, it looks painful as hell. _

“Fine, brother,” Jane turns and runs out of the room, running off to somewhere else in the castle.

“Is she always this terrifying?” I ask the guards in the room. Every single one of them turns to me and nods. Most of them even let off a small shudder at the thought of Jane and her powers of torture.

A tall and slender woman walks through the door. Enclosed in one of her gloved hands was a letter. “I have a letter for the Queen,” she simply stated, coming over to my side and handing me the letter.  _ Hell, I never get mail. I have no goddamn family. The only friends that I had were the-  _ I looked to who had written the letter.  _ Bella, Alice, Edward, Rose, and Carlisle. This thing is heavier than a normal letter. Maybe they all wrote separate letters? I’ll check the handwriting. _

The first letter was clearly written by Carlisle, his handwriting perfect. Plus, he wrote my letter in Italian.

_ Dearest Annalise, _

_ I hope that you are doing well during your stay in Italy. Alice did not foresee the mating bond that would be. I am overjoyed to hear that you are mated to a good friend of mine. While my family holds hate in their hearts when it comes to the Volturi Coven, I do not. I stayed with them for a few decades and know that they are good people. I think that you will fit in perfectly with them. _

_ I know that you had a falling out with Bella and Edward. I hope that you will, in time, be able to mend your relationship. You were close with all of my children. I still consider you a part of my family. _

_ While you are now my Queen, my superior in the vampire world, I still hope that we can remain as friends. You have always been a good person, opening yourself up to a species that you didn't know existed. You are a light in the dark of the vampire world. Know that I am always here for you and support you unconditionally. _

_ With good regards, _

_ Carlisle Cullen _

The second letter had been written by Rose, who was the member of the Olympic Coven that didn’t like my ex-friend Isabella Swan.

_ Dear Anna, _

_ I am saddened to hear that you will not be coming back to Forks anytime soon. When I heard that you were leaving, I can not say that I was not angry. That anger subsided when I heard of the reason why. _

_ To find your true mate during your human lifetime is rare. To have more than one true mate is one of the most rare occurrences in the vampire world. While I do not know who to believe, Edward or Carlisle, when it comes to the goodness of the Volturi, I hope that you will be happy there. I know just how much true mates mean to people. Emmett is my true mate and before him I felt hopeless, like I would never find love again. _

_ Carlisle assures us that the three kings of the Volturi will treat you right. I know that a true mate can not do any harm to their mate, as our instincts barr us from even considering it. It was stupid for Edward and Bella to think that you would reject your soulmate for them. Your happiness matters. You should be allowed to be happy, even if it means that you eat humans and become queen of the vampires. _

_ Always your friend, _

_ Rosalie Cullen _

Rose’s letter had calmed my nerves.  _ At least two members of the Cullens still like me. Well, four, since Esme will side with Carlisle and Emmett with Rose. Still, I wonder if Alice will make Jasper go against me. Jasper was always a good friend. _

The third letter was from Edward.  _ Well, here we go, Annalise, be ready for this. _

_ Dear Annalise, _

_ I can’t believe that you would do this to us. I don’t understand why you would go with the Volturi. I don’t understand why you would think about eating humans. Does your own species mean nothing to you? _

_ When I saw you after looking at them, it was like you didn’t care about us anymore. Do you have no heart for the people that they kill on a weekly basis? They kill, they murder, and they have no respect for morality. Carlisle tried to get them to switch their diets, it never worked. That shows you just how little they are willing to change. _

_ We were your friends. Yes, we did drag you into this vampire mess in the first place, but you could have joined us. You could have been good, but you chose power. No wonder, you always wanted control. Isn’t that how you put it? “I want to be in control of my own life. I want to make changes in my life and others.” _

_ Well, you are doing what you said that you wanted to do. Although, you should note, you are not making a positive change. I do not know when you will be turned, but when you do, I will not be able to look at you without seeing those monsters you have as mates. _

_ With good intentions, _

_ Edward Cullen _

I shook my head at the letter before throwing it with the others. There must have been tears in my eyes because my vision had gotten blurry as I looked to the last one.  _ The girl who was human with me, the girl who was my friend. Isabella Swan, I hope that you do not have such piercing words as your boyfriend. _

_ Dear Annalise Monroe, _

_ While Edward might be able to control himself, I can not. How dare you? How dare you side with the people who tried to kill me? Mates or not, we were like family. I know that you think that your mates are good, but they are not. _

_ Your mates are evil people who kill whomever they please! Is that what you wish to become, the queen of the vampires? Is it worth the slaughter? The Cullens have a way of living that spares humans! The guards inside of the castle will want you dead. They want you for a snack! They don’t respect you, they fear their kings. _

_ Aro is a master manipulator. He’s a sleazy and slimy man who has gained power from killing those he opposes. The only reason he is in power is because he has a woman that keeps the Volturi from turning on each other. Chelsea can strengthen bonds and break the bonds from other covens. I bet that you’re under her influence right now. They all are. He’s a sociopath! _

_ Caius is a sadistic killer. He doesn’t care about human life. He hates humans and Children of the Moon. He hunted a species to near extinction! Why would he ever love a human like you? The people back home love you, so why are settling for an unloving psychopath? _

_ I don’t know much about Marcus, but from what Carlisle says he is still stuck on the death of his late wife. He will always love her more than he loves you. Rumor has it that Aro allowed her to be killed in front of him. Do you really want a man who has dead wife issues and depression? You need someone who will put you before anything! _

_ Oh yeah, and Aro and Caius have wives. Their names are Sulpicia and Athenodora. I bet they’re going to love you. Note the sarcasm. You’re becoming a homewrecker as well as a murderer and wife of three different men. How the hell are they all going to share you anyways? Take turns? God, Annalise, you are demented. _

_ Never speak to me again, _

_ Isabella Swan _

By the time that I had read her ending regards, tears were streaming down my face. I threw the letters on the floor and ran out of the guards’ room. I didn’t care that a vampire could find me and kill me in the hallways. The fact that they had a few newborns in their guard didn’t matter in the moment. No, I needed to be somewhere that I knew, somewhere safe.

Tears still coming down my face, I found myself opening the door to Marcus’ room. It was the only room that I had been in and the only place that I felt truly safe. Inside, Marcus was sitting at his study.

He turned to see me in my pitiful state. Immediately, he ran over to me and held me in his arms as I sobbed into his chest. “Il mio amore, what happened?”


	6. Tricky Trials

Many things had been said to me during my life. I had grown up in foster homes with nasty foster parents for god’s sake. Even after all of the hell that I had gone through in the foster care system, I was still susceptible to heartbreak like any other person. While usually hardened by my lack of friends for 16 years of my life, my emotions would show through at times like these, when I felt the keen sting of betrayal.

“Cara mia, why are you crying?” Marcus asks softy, rubbing circles on my lower back soothingly. I just continued to sob, unable to form words. I could hear Marcus sigh before he picked me up in his arms. I clung on to his coat for dear life as he closed the door to his room and brought me over to his bed. “Il mio amore, I can not try to help if I do not know what happened?”

“The- The let- letters,” I managed to choke out. Marcus let out another deep sigh before kissing my temple. He sat on the bed and pulled me down gently to meet his chest.

“I know that four letters came in addressed to you, cara mia. Who wrote these letters?” He asks me.

“Carlisle . . . Rose, Ed- Edward, and B- Isabella. Carlisle and Rose’s letters . . . were nice,” I didn’t want to explain what was in those letters. The spite filled words that Isabella Swan had written to me hurt. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will pierce your soul.

“I suspect that you are not crying over a kind letter from Carlisle or Rose,” I shook my head and let out a high pitched sob. “You did not come in with the letters either. I do not believe that these letters were very kind, were they?” I shake my head into his chest. I felt my tears start to dry as he held me.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize, “You have things that you need to do.”

“Never apologize for interrupting my work, cara mia. I understand that words from former friends and family can hurt. I am sorry that you had something cruel said to me. What did Isabella and Edward say to you that hurt you so?” Marcus asks, running his large hands through my long brown hair.

“They- They called you monsters. They said that if I stayed with you I would become a monster. Am I a monster?” Marcus shakes his head at me and almost crushes me in his grip. “Isabella called Aro a sociopath, Caius a psychopath, and said that you would never love me because you are hung up on your dead ex-wife. She called you unloving and unlovable. She said she never wants to speak to me again,” I explain.

“At one point everyone thought the same. My soul brothers have to put up an act. Aro as the one who makes all of the decisions, Caius as a vengeful monster, and myself as a depressing slab of stone. While some parts of all of that are true, we are still subject to change just as anyone else is. I do not consider myself or my brothers monsters. We just keep things in order. When there has been chaos, we have been the ones to fix it, no matter the cost,” Marcus admits.

“So you were a depressing slab of stone?” I set out a small laugh.

"You know, I never thought that I would ever feel okay again. When I first saw our bond, I couldn't believe it. After three millenia, my true mate had finally come to me, had found me in this old place. I saw you connected to my soul brothers as well. I knew just how awful things had gotten around here for them as well. This bond that we have, it is our greatest strength. If you hadn't come, the Volturi would have likely fallen. We have gone on too long without our queen."

I let out one of my idiotic giggles. Marcus lets out booming laughter as the door to the bedroom opens, revealing Demetri, Santiago, and Afton, who held the letters that I had left in the guard room. Their jaws dropped as I continued to giggle and Marcus laughed.

“Queen Annalise, King Marcus, I have the letters that- I think we should be going,” If Afton’s face could have gotten any whiter, it would have. My giggles got louder as the guards just stared at the scene laid out before them. Their king and queen laughing and giggling on the bed. Must have been a scary sight for a coven of vampires.

Alec and Jane had found themselves outside the door, watching my mate and I as we found ourselves laughing at each other. I think that I may have scared the scariest vampire alive because Jane looked like she wanted to run or jump off a cliff.

“What are you all looking at? Believe it or not, Marcus can laugh and Caius can smile!” I cheer, allowing Marcus to attack me, before laughing at the rest of the guard members who were about to metaphorically shit themselves.

Oh, this was definitely going to be fun.

_________________________________________________________________________

While my time spent in the walls of Volterra, Italy, was spent just getting used to the guard and the other vampires that I would be seeing around the castle, it had come to my attention that I had not yet seen a trial. As dangerous as it would be for a human to be inside during a trial, I wanted to see just how my mates administered justice.

Thankfully, I had caught Aro right before a trial.

“Il mio amore, is there something that you need?” Aro croons, placing a kiss at the top of my head.

“I know that it may be a lot to ask for, but can I join in during the trials? I want to see how the Volturi administers justice in the vampire world,” I ask. Aro growls protectively as a guard member looks at me a little too closely, like he wanted to make me a midday snack.

“I do not know if it is safe for a human to be inside of the trials, cara mia,” Aro gives an open ended answer. I frown at my mate, wanting to see what went on all day. I needed to see what the job of justice giver would be like. I was more of an observatory learner anyways.

“Aro, I need to know how to do my duties correctly for when I become the true queen after turning. Look, I can bring along Demetri and Felix to guard me. You have a personal bodyguard anyways. I think someone said her name was Renata. Well, she can guard me from any physical attackers,” I try and make a compromise. I knew that Aro really didn’t want to say yes, but the fact that I was giving him a pretty mean scowl and the fact that I was his mate sure did make him reconsider.

“Fine, tesoro, you can come in during this trial, but only because it should be a quick one. Just a simple case of feeding within the walls. I will warn you, the things that can go on inside of trials may not be pretty. Sometimes we must destroy vampires that break the laws, as we can not allow rulebreakers to roam or crowd up the dungeons,” Aro warns. I nod and give him a happy smile. Aro called Demetri, who had been walking down the halls with Felix. “I am going to need you to guard Queen Annalise during this trial, as she wishes to observe the inner workings of our coven.”

“Of course, Master Aro,” Demetri bows his head before motioning Felix and I to come inside. Marcus and Caius were surprised to see my inside. They were both sitting on their thrones lazily.

My mates both gave Aro a hiss as he walked in, less than impressed with the prospects of their very human mate standing in during one of their trials, where a potential criminal could get their hands on me, or worse, their fangs.

“Brother, why have you brought Annalise into this trial?” Caius questions, a scowl plastered on his pale face. Marcus stares at Aro and I, most likely mentally asking the same exact question. “It is not safe for humans to be here during trial. She could get hurt! Annalise, cara mia, please wait until we finish up this trial.”

“I am staying here during the trial, Caius, I want to see how your trials work. I will be perfectly protected as Demetri and Felix are going to act as my personal protection,” Caius looks like he’s about to blow a fuse. I walk over to his throne and stroke his cheek. “I can stay by your throne if you please. I know that you would never allow me to get hurt. Don’t be mean to Aro, he can’t resist my charms any more than you can,” I tease.

Caius nuzzles into my hand as I sit on his lap. Both my other mates look annoyed that I did not choose to sit on their laps. Caius grins as I get myself comfortable.

A few moments later, with Jane and Alec at their side, a pale man with dark red hair comes in. He had to have been turned in his mid to late 30s as he looked much more mature than Caius or Marcus. Jane had a gleeful smile on her face, but it faded away once she saw me. I was glad that she didn’t point anything out and elected to keep her mouth shut and go along with it.

“Sylvester, you have been brought here today because you have been suspected of feeding inside the walls of Volterra. As the entire vampire community knows by now, this is illegal,” The man struggles under Jane’s hold on him as Aro speaks, his voice clear and powerful.

“So what? The humans inside of this city do not matter! No humans matter. Not the ones in America or Africa, and most definitely not the ones here! Humans are our food, yet you barr us from feeding as much as we please, Aro. You are a tyrannical king who cares too much for the food that you eat! You speak about the laws, but here is your soul brother Caius, holding a human blood bag in his lap,” Caius growls at the man and grips onto me tightly.

“You dare speak to your queen that way?” Aro starts to lose his composure. The man suddenly realizes who I am and takes a gulp, turning still as Aro gets up from his seat. “The woman with my soul brother is here on her first trial. She is here to observe. You see Sylvester, my brothers and I have found our queen, our true mate. If you dare call my mate a human blood bag again, I will order Jane to keep you here in the castle and torture you for all of eternity,” Aro threatens.

“You are not supposed to be above the law! My coven will find me and they will destroy you for threatening me,” the man tries to threaten Aro, but my mate just clicks his tongue and lets out a threatening laugh. “You will pay if you kill me!”

“I’m willing to take that chance, Sylvester. I will make sure to send your ashes to your coven in Germany. For now, burn in hell,” Aro tears off the man’s head with his two bare hands. Jane and Alec tear off the rest of his limbs and carry them to a furnace at the side of the room.

Caius kisses my head and wraps his hands around me. I giggle at his affection. I could feel Caius’ smirk, even if I could not see it. The guards inside of the room stared at me in disbelief. From what everyone had said, Caius was the angry king, the king that always had something nasty to say. He never was that way with me, always kind and caring. Out of everything, he just needed a lot of affection.

_ That was a nice trial. Honestly, protective Aro is hot Aro. _


	7. Stupid Isabella Swan

The three kings of the Volturi had become much more protective after the trial. Caius and Aro in particular had not left my side the entire day. I was not used to having such little personal space. The kings' presence was not overwhelming, simply unusual.

I had not seen any of the guards. I suspected that they had either been ordered to back off or had simply stayed away so that the kings and I could bond. I had just met them and would need to get closer to them before I could truly consider becoming a vampire.

The thoughts of my eventual turning had gone through my mind ever since Edward slipped up in front of me. The Cullens had assured me that it would never come to that, said that I could live as a human if I wanted. Actually, it was more like Alice and Edward said that I could live as a human if I pleased. Carlisle would just divert the conversation and Esme would offer me food.

Edward and Alice knew that they would be unable to stop what was meant to be. I would become a vampire at some point. While my transformation was not being rushed like Isabella's, it was still clearly being talked about. Unlike Isabella, I had no problem with drinking human blood. In fact, I had often licked my own wounds and liked the taste of my own blood. Almost like I was made to become a blood drinking vampire.

The only Cullens that had outright said that they would support me no matter what were Rosalie and Carlisle. I knew about how Rosalie was turned, how she never chose immortality. Unlike Isabella, Rosalie seemed to think that me turning was a good thing for me. She had said she would rather have me in the family than Isabella.

When Edward had exposed their species to me, Rosalie and I had gotten really close. We both loved fashion and jewelry, often comparing our own pieces. I had made quite a lot of money before Forks, during my years as a babysitter and retail worker in my foster homes. Thankfully, all of my former foster parents allowed me to keep the money that I would make. Rosalie cared about me like the sister she never had. We may have looked quite like opposites, me having dark hair and much softer features, but we both found ourselves having a bond like no other.

I did not know if I could find the strength to return to the Cullen household, no matter how welcoming Esme, Carlisle, and Rose would be. Edward and Isabella would shun me for all time over something that I could not control. They expected me to pick them over my own happiness. What I had wanted in life was to be loved, the kings could give me that and more. I would become an enforcer of the law, just as I always wanted. They were my perfect fit. Yes, I would break human laws in order to live, but life is a game of give and take.

One of my true beliefs, one that Carlisle had agreed with me on, is that people are not who their family are. People are not their skin or their god, or who they claim their lover. Isabella is not Edward, I would not judge them for what the other does. Yes, they do tend to do the same things, but I do not judge them based on each other. They judge me based on who my mates are. I may not like what Alice had done, what she had allowed, but I would never hold something that she did against Jasper, who was and is my friend.

"What are you doing, cara mia?" Caius asks from the bed. I had taken my time in exploring the castle with my mates, who had shown me around, keeping me protected at all times. When day had turned to nightfall, Caius had shown me back to his quarters.

"Just thinking about how stupid Isabella and Edward are," I retort, coming back near the bed. Before, I had been messing around with a trinket that laid nicely on his desk. Caius laughed and pulled me on the bed.

"Anyone who says such cruel things to my mate must be a moron," Caius says proudly, placing a kiss to the top of my head. I giggle and turn over, finally facing my handsome mate.

"Those who speak so cruelly about my mate must be idiots. I mean, was that the _only_ time Isabella and Edward met with you three? Besides when Edward was trying to kill himself obviously," I ask. Caius nods his head. "How can he get a read of who you are based on your thoughts at one meeting? That just makes no sense to me. He claims to be such a good vampire, but in the end that kind of thing just makes him a shitty person. I mean, what good person doesn't give someone a chance to show love, to care about someone? It's not like it was his decision whether or not I accepted the bond. So controlling of him."

"Well, as you know, the entire guard read those letters you left. They now hate those two and love Rosalie and Carlisle. The latter are lucky to have found some allies here in Volterra. If something were to happen, I bet half the guard would come to their aide. That is, of course, unless they are suspected to have broken a law," Caius informs.

"Are they really that protective of me?" I ask. Caius groans and nods his head.

"The guards of the Volturi are known for their loyalty. They have become so loyal that our enemies have claimed that we have some person here that can brainwash someone into joining our cause. I guess that Chelsea could do that, but Marcus would be able to notice. I know her power is quite powerful, but I don't think that her gift would last longer than a few months at most. Our guards love you. Aro and I's ex-wives were cruel to the guards. Athenodora would constantly complain about whoever was her guard for the day, claiming that they weren't doing enough for her," Caius groans at the memory.

"Hey, you were the one to marry that witch," I point out.

"I met her over 3000 years ago, il mio amore, you can not be putting the blame on me. I was just out of the newborn stage when I first met her. She was the first vampire I was smitten with. She has annoyed me for the last millenia, constantly complaining about different things," Caius kissed my head once more. "I am glad that you do not seem to complain about the guards that are there to protect you. You haven't even given them any orders."

"We're a coven, not some sort of Italian mafia. Actually, we may be the Italian Vampire Mafia," Caius laughs, pulling me closer, "The guards are here to protect and serve, not to be belittled and ordered. I just want them to be friendly with me. I could use a few strong friends around here."

"Am I not strong?" Caius questions, "Are Aro and Marcus not strong either?"

"Are you asking to be rejected and friendzoned?" I deadpan. Caius shuts his mouth and whimpers. "I'm sorry, that was mean. I'm never going to reject you or your soul brothers, Caius. I may have only just met you, but you've all made me feel more loved in a day than anyone has made me feel in 17 years."

"Were you not loved? The Cullens have accepted you. Well, almost all of the Cullens have accepted you. That has been a thing for about a year now, as you are almost 18 years of age," Caius asks me. It was a long story, a very, very long story.

"I grew up in foster care. My parents were both drug addicts. I was born addicted to heroin and crack. Yeah, not the best way to be born. Anyways, I was taken when I was young and placed into my first foster family. They were alright I guess, but I can tell now that they were mostly in it for the money. The second family were abusive assholes. I wasn't the best in school because I have severe ADHD. I blurt things out that I really don't mean. I can't focus on things and just get super spacey. The second family didn't like that I made their family look _bad_ so they sent me back. The third family moved around a lot. I could tell that they were nice people, they just really didn't know how to handle me. I was getting bullied in almost every school I went to. They just said to ignore them. I did, but that just made the bullies get more crafty with their insults. Middle school was hell. I used to have friends, but then they turned on me. I became even more of an outcast. I broke for a while," I admit.

"What do you mean by _break_ ," Caius looks more worried than ever at what I was about to admit to.

"I stopped functioning correctly. It was kind of like when Isabella went into a depression. I did everything, but I was comatose. I didn't want to live anymore. I gave up on almost everything. I thought that, since the world had given up on me, I would give up on the world. I never said that I was a very smart 13 year old girl. I lived like that for three years. When I went to the school before Forks, I finally came out of the depression. I had finally gone to my final family. I petitioned the judge to grant me emancipation. I think that she took pity when she read my file and granted me legal rights," I finished my story.

"You know, Marcus went through something quite similar. The guards may have told you, but before you came, they had never seen Marcus smile. Some of the guards have been here for over a millenia and have never once seen him smile, yet alone laugh. Marcus was a statue, barely speaking a word during the trials. He had once asked us to destroy him. I think that Aro even considered it, since seeing his own soul brother in such a state was horrifying. No matter how many jokes the guards and I would crack during those first 400 years of his depression, he would not laugh. Not once did he smile," Caius admits.

"I heard that he had a wife before," Caius sighs at my words.

"I think that he will tell you the story of Didyme some other time. I would recommend not bringing the topic up with Aro. Didyme was his younger sister. Unlike us, Didyme was Aro's biological sister. He sired her himself. They were quite close, even with the 9 year age gap," Caius grimaces. "All that I can say about Didyme was that she was a delight to be around, unlike Sulpicia and Athenodora. Almost none of our guards remember her at all. She was gifted, like Aro, but in a different way. Didyme had the power to make anyone around her happy. She was literally a ray of sunshine. She made everyone happy. Corin's ability is much different, but they both have to do with emotion. Corin makes people content with their situation, but not happy. No, only Didyme had the ability to bring true happiness with her gift."

"Everyone says that you were angry. What happened that made you so angry?"

"Everything, if I'm being honest," Caius admits. "I was not always angry. I did not always hate humans as much as I do today. I used to feel for them, to understand where they came from. I had sympathy for the people that I would feed off of. I am no sociopath, if there were a less weakening way to not feed off of humans, I would be the first one to take it. Humans of the last few millena have grown heartless with their pursuits for technology. They will do anything for it, even if it means betrayal. I do not take kindly to liars and traitors. If that is what humanity is going to be, I will not be able to stand by their side as you do. They must earn my respect back."

"Honestly, if you asked most of humanity if they liked humans, they would say no. Humans suck," Caius lets out a loud laugh and curls himself closer to me.

"Ah yes, the joys of having a human mate. Even when you are human, you share the same annoyance."

"I mean, what jokes. Humans are jokes. They are only useful for jokes."

"Only good for Vine and TikTok, you mean," I gasp.

"You know about Vine and TikTok?!"

"Cara mia, I am not uncultured!"


	8. Ballgown for a Budding Queen

I was thankful that Caius had allowed me to sleep in his bed for the night. Since he had things to do, I did not want to disturb him with my snoring. My mate insisted that I would not be a problem and that he did not have much work that he needed to do.

Unfortunately, like many people, my mind tended to dwell on the bad things. Isabella and Edward hated me. I had lost a growing friendship. I had been dumped as a friend many times, many of those times being during middle school, but this felt different. This was a betrayal of my trust. I trusted them to trust me and to trust my judgement. My judgement allowed me to be friends with them. I had given them a chance and the second that I had a difference of opinion on a big life choice of my own, they dumped me.

Betrayal was a feeling that was mostly unknown to me if you exclude middle school. I knew that people would leave me most of the time. I hadn’t placed my heart in someone since that day during 7th grade. No, in Forks I had just been learning how to trust again. I had finally gotten somewhere. During my time in Forks I felt like I mattered somewhere. If I went back, I don’t think I would feel the same sense of belonging.

Things were different now. I had mates, I had a coven of vampires to help take care of. The severity of what had happened in my life had finally caught up with me. I felt so  _ weak.  _ In my heart, I felt so completely  _ useless. _

“What seems to be the matter, mia regina?” Demetri asks. I look back at the flower I had been picking at to satisfy my desire to just  _ destroy something.  _ My ways of fixing my problems would not work here in the Volturi, I knew that for sure. I needed better habits before I turned and my habits became eternal.

“Do you think that Isabella and Edward could be right, on some sick and twisted level? I mean, I am a human who has power in the vampire world. I don’t  _ belong  _ in the vampire world. Edward says that I chose power over family,” I unload my personal drama on my most loyal guard. He had been kind to me even before he figured out I was the kings’ mate. For that, he would always remain my friend wherever I went, no matter what life brought to me.

“No, Isabella and Edward are wrong on every level. Just because you are our queen does not mean that you believe yourself above us. Yes, you hold power, but even if you weren’t the queen and just became a normal vampire the guards here would be loyal to you. You are a good person, Annalise, that matters most of all. Edward has no idea what it is like to be placed in a position of power. Isabella is also a human, but she seems to think that she belongs. In all honesty, you belong in the vampire world a hell of a lot more than young Isabella. Edward and Isabella may have seen you as family, but that changed once you snapped those bonds. I do not mean to be cruel, but it is the truth. Isabella and Edward, after the bonds snapped in with the kings, looked at you like you were a pawn. They claim that is what the kings will use you as, but that is just what they did,” Demetri replies honestly. It was one of the things I loved most about Demetri. He was just plain  _ honest.  _

My guard’s words did nothing to calm my anxieties. I whispered, “I just feel so _useless._ I am useless. What is a human queen going to do? What do I even need to do?”

"You call yourself useless, but you've done more for the Volturi in the two days that you've been here than anyone has in the 900 years that I have been here. The guards used to be treated like shit because we all know that Master Caius is in an eternal bad mood, but he hasn't even made one rude comment. He just smiles at us as he walks by. Caius doesn't smile. Aro hasn't made any comments either. Marcus looks like he may be coming back to life. I've never seen him have an ounce of happiness in his eyes but when he looks at you he's on cloud nine. The way that you change the vampire world is that you stay. You can do other things, of course, but first you just need to stay," Demetri says as the door opens to reveal Marcus.

“Sorry to interrupt your chat, tesoro, but Aro has gotten into a mood for a ball and there is nothing I can do to coax him out of the idea. You will have to go with the ladies to go and get a dress, as none of the dresses that we have here are from this century,” Marcus informs us of the ball. “I do believe it would be good for you to guard my mate during this ball, Demetri, as Aro has invited countless vampires from covens all over the world.”

“It would be my honor, Master Marcus,” Demetri bows. I got up off of the seat I had found myself in.  _ A ball, huh. God, this is the kind of thing royals do, isn’t it? They throw a ball and discuss politics and drink. Thankfully I took dance lessons in Forks, so the dancing part won’t be too bad. Wait, if vampires are going to be there, does that mean that my arrival is going to be announced? I mean, my mates have to announce me to the world at some point, or at least Aro does. Dramatic man, he is. He’s more dramatic than Emmett. Damn, never thought I would ever think that. Wait, Aro is going to be seeing this at some point. Hello, Aro, how are you? This ball sounds fun. I hope that I find a good dress. I hope you haven’t decided to throw this ball just to piss off Isabella and Edward. Scratch that, I know you’ve thrown this ball to piss off Isabella and Edward. Don’t blame you, they did hurt my feelings. _

“When will I be getting this dress? Wait, more importantly, when is this ball being held?” I question Marcus, who looks surprised that I was okay with this.

“In a week.”

____________________________________________________

“Not that one, Heidi!” Renata shouted from the other side of the dressing room. Currently, this was the only shop that knew of the Volturi and would allow vampires inside. The shopkeeper was quite surprised to see that a human was travelling among the vampire guards of the Volturi.

“Why not, Nata?” Heidi whined. “It feels so comfy!”

“Heidi, you look like a whore in that dress, comfy or not! We are supposed to be sexy, but fashionable. You can’t be looking like a pornstar!” Renata fires back. I heard Jane giggle as she picked out a long black dress. “Oh, Jane, that looks lovely. Go and try it on!”

Jane rushed to the fitting rooms, running past the shopkeeper. “Good lord, these girls are going to kill me someday. Annalise, you said that your favorite color is purple?” The shopkeeper asked. I nodded my head. The older woman smiled and ushered me into the back of the room.

The dresses back here were fit for Queens. They were all perfectly crafted, one of a kind in their own rights. “I have waited for the day that someone would be fit for this dress. Nobody that I have found has been worthy of the beauty of this gown. I have to admit, it is my best dress. Never have I been able to make something that compares to the beauty of her,” The shopkeeper muses, taking me deeper into the sea of dresses.

Right at the very back, in a gold casing, was a bright purple ball gown.  _ Dear lord, this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and I’ve already seen the kings. No, she doesn’t think that  _ I’m  _ worthy of wearing such a beauty. This is something fit for someone better. _

“I know that you may question my judgement, but I know who you are Annalise of the Volturi. You are the Human Queen, the queen that the kings of your vampire coven plan on introducing to the world tonight. Never have I seen someone with such grace, such elegance as she talks with vampires like they are her own family. You have a bravery I have not seen in my lifetime. My family have been making ball gowns and accessories for the Volturi for almost 700 years. It is such an honor that I get to see the woman that they make their queen. I believe that you will make this world a much better place to be human or vampire, Queen Annalise,” The woman bowed to me, moving out of the way so that I could see the dress.

On the bottom lie multiple handsewn purple butterflies, almost lifelike in their own regard. The purple lace that lined the bottom was just noticeable enough to see from where I stood, but you wouldn’t be able to see the intricacies from afar.

“Please, try it on, my queen,” The woman almost pleads. I just nod, knowing just how important this dress and seeing me was to her.  _ I guess the few families here that know about vampires have been a part of a generational line that goes back almost a millenia. They must not know a lot about how the Volturi work, but I guess that if they get money and immunity they don’t care. Most humans would worship vampires these days. _

The dress would fit quite nicely with some alterations. I was on the short side, often finding my mates towering over me. Hell, most of the guard towered over me. The only ones who were shorter than me were Jane and Alec. The young looking vampire could still be heard giggling in the other room.

When I finally got the dress completely on my body, I came out of the changing room. “Oh, sembri stupendo! Do you like it?” I nod my head quickly before giving the woman a warm smile. I knew that this would be the dress for me. Paired along with some nice white heels and some small earrings, this would be the best outfit of my life. “I shall have it sent. I will make sure that it specifically says for the kings to  _ not  _ open it up. I would not want to ruin a surprise such as this!”

I nodded my head again, heading to the other changing area where the ladies were. They gave me a knowing look and Jane said, “Where is the dress? Are we going to get to see it on you?”

“You’ll get to see it on me when we go to the ball. My dress is a surprise,” a chorus of  _ boos  _ could be heard throughout the crowd. They clearly wanted to see the dress before I showed up with it on my body. I understood why, I could have picked out a dress that looked like crap on me. Thankfully, I didn’t, my dress looked amazing on me.

“Why can’t we just see it? We all want to know what our beautiful queen is going to wear for her opening ball!” Renata protests. Everyone nods. The shopkeeper laughs at their antics. We really did act like a bunch of teenage girls.

“Your queen will look lovely during her ball, ladies, I promise. You have my word,” The shopkeeper promises us. Everyone groans and starts to head out. I knew that they would just mail the check in to the shopkeeper.  _ Good lord, are all of the italian seamstresses this good? Italy really must be a great place for fashion. Maybe that is why my mates decided to settle here anyways. Great and open locals that could go missing as well as good fashion. _

I would be going to that ball in style.


	9. Time to Party

A week had passed since I had gotten my dress. The ball was today and I would be making my first statement in front of the rest of the world. I would have my mates and guards around me at all times, keeping me protected from and potential vampire dangers. I don’t believe any newborns were welcomed to this party, so the issue of control should not come up.

The Cullens had been invited to the ball. I think that they all knew what was going to happen. Edward had refused to come. I got another letter from Carlisle saying that he and the rest of the Cullens would be very happy to see me again. Oddly, Alice included. I hope that she had gotten it through her skull that rejecting one’s mate would be foolish. I could blame her actions on the fact that she had not yet found her true mate like Carlisle and Rosalie, who would have likely told her the woes of what rejection could do to all parties of the bond.

I knew that as long as Alice and the rest of the family did not speak poorly of my mates in front of me, I would have no problem being friends with them again. It had been little over a week since I had seen or heard from them last. I knew that ever since I got those letters, I knew where my allegiance lay. If the people from Forks would be accepting, I would be keeping them as friends. If they did not accept me, I would not accept them as my friends. I didn’t frankly care what their intentions were, if they spoke poorly of my mates, they spoke poorly of me. My mates are a part of me and would be for all of eternity.

I had finally gotten on my dress for the ball, allowing the purple dress to flow out around my body.  _ Well, this is what most of the vampire covens of the world are going to see me in for the first time. I hope that I look good because I would not want to upset the eyes of these vampires. Actually, I would rather not upset the eyes of my mates. _

The drill had been simple: wait in my room until Demetri came in to escort me to the ballroom that held over 200 vampires. Aro would make his speech announcing my arrival beforehand so that vampires could ready themselves for a human in their presence.

It would be weird, seeing so many vampires concentrated into one large ballroom. I had only maybe seen 50 in my life, and that was in Forks and throughout the castle. Believe it or not, the Volturi is huge. No wonder they were the ruling coven, they had so many damn vampires to back them up. In a way, it made things much easier around the castle. I knew that if someone were to attack, I would be safe, guarded from anyone who wished me harm.

“Queen Annalise, it is time to make your,” Demetri looked me up and down, “You look great, Annalise. Seriously, the entire ballroom is going to be shocked. You look like a goddess,” Demetri compliments. I blush and thank him, taking him by the arm to walk me down the empty hall. Aro had made sure that nobody lingered in the hallways like they usually would during parties, either making out or talking, away from the music.

The walk down the hall was quiet, most of the guests inside of the ballroom staying quiet. Demetri pointed to a large set of doors. “Walk down the aisle there. Your mates will be in view on the other side,” Demetri commanded. I listened to him, opening the doors.

The entire ballroom was gasping as I made my way down a small slip of carpet that led to where my mates were standing. Each of them had a smile on their handsome faces.  _ God, is it bad that I want to kiss all three of them so hard right now? I mean we’ve only known each other and been together for a week but this bond is making it really hard for me to hold back right now. _

“You look stunning, il mio amore,” Aro croons, taking my hand in his. The rest of the ballroom watches on with interest. I turn to Marcus and Caius, who come much closer to Aro. Marcus takes my hand and kisses it softly.

“Absolutely ravishing, tesoro,” Marcus compliments. I could feel my face getting redder.

“Nobody else in this room can compare,” Caius claims, kissing my cheek. I could hear the ballroom cheer and clink their drinks.

“To the kings and queen of the Volturi,” Carlisle raises his glass up and says. The crowd repeats what Carlisle says and clicks their drinks with each other. Some of the musicians start to play around the room, all of them vampires most likely looking for a bit of extra money or standing with the Volturi. I could see the Cullens out of the corner of my eye, situated close to the right side of the ballroom.

Everyone in the room looks like gods and goddesses, myself included. I could swear that this had to be Percy Jackson because the ballroom looked like Olympus from where I was standing with my mates. Instead of the big three having separate wives, I was just the mate of all three. In a way, that had to have been better. Plus, mates can’t cheat, so no half bloods.

I had been so caught up in just getting used to being in a fancy dress and inside such an amazing looking ballroom that I couldn’t even see just how handsome my mates looked. My mates truly looked like  _ greek gods,  _ each wearing quite a lot of their favorite colors. Marcus was wearing royal blue, Caius wearing green, and Aro wearing red. They all looked perfect together, standing side by side as brothers.

“There you are, Anna,” Rose pesters, pulling me into a hug. My mates looked just about ready to pounce on the golden-eyed girl, but I accepted the hug. Rose was the only woman in the Cullen clan that was truly a friend right now. Esme was great, but she acted more as a mother to me than a friend.

“Rose, you look gorgeous,” I complimented. Rose was wearing a blush dress with a diamond necklace. She looked simple, yet classy. “I look overdressed and too human.”

“No way, you look absolutely  _ perfect.  _ Whoever made that dress should get a raise, or some sort of award. You’re the prettiest woman in the room right now. Don’t go beating on your humanity, your human butt looks amazing in that dress right now. I might just have to snap it up,” Rose jokes. I could see Emmett and Jasper coming over. Most of the room was still sneaking glances at me, whispering amongst themselves. They were most likely wondering how the hell the Cullens had managed to get to know me already.

“You look lovely, ma’am,” Jasper compliments in his usual southern accent. I swear, some guys can pull it off and some can’t. It’s the difference between a cowboy and a hillbilly.

“Yeah, Volturi queen, you look like you belong at a damn wedding,” Emmett deadpans. I laugh, pulling the man child into a hug. I let go of him after a while and hugged Jasper.

While Jasper often had a hard time being around Isabella, he never had a hard time being around me. He explained it as my scent not really appealing to him like Bella’s did. My scent was like home, like someone he could trust. It felt more like the scent of a covenmate than the sweet scent of food. I had never told Isabella this, she would likely get mad that Jasper could be around me and not her. She always was protective about Alice and me being near both of them could jeopardize her relationship with Alice.

I never really thought about just how much I kept away from Bella to keep her comfortable. I would keep all of my real feelings away so that she didn’t think poorly of me.  _ Did she really want to be friends with me, or did she want to be friends with who she thought I was? I wasn’t a human hating and human eating vampire accepting person to her. To her, I was just like her. I was a sister that she could rely on. No, she didn’t want to be friends with me, she just wanted to be friends with an idea of me that she could pour all of her baggage on. Who I really am doesn’t matter to her, she just has a bogged down version of me in her head that she wants to be true, that she wants to be the real me. _

“I missed you guys, even if I was only away for a week or so,” I admit to them. Emmett comes over again and envelops me in an almost crushing hug. Demetri and Felix walk over, most likely noticing my racing heartbeat and seeing the scene.

“We are going to have to ask you to release the queen, Emmett,” Felix states dryly, looking at the animal-eating Cullen man child. Rose grabs Emmett’s arm and pulls him off of me. Emmett lets out a whine as Caius comes over to see what was happening.

“Cullens,” Caius deadpans.

“Caius, the Cullens are my friends. Well, the Cullens minus Edward right now. He can suck my metaphorical dick at the moment. Oh yeah, Rose, make sure he knows that he’s not welcome in Volterra until he apologizes to my mates and I. He did hurt my feelings. Anyways, Caius, be nice to the Cullens, they are the ones that made it possible for you to meet me,” I snapped at him.

“Of course, bellissima. Mi dispiace, il mio amore,” Caius apologizes to the group and goes over to greet some of the other vampires in the world.

“Did Caius Volturi just apologize?” Carlisle butts in, looking impressed by such a notion, as well as shocked.

“Believe it or not, Carlisle, all of my mates are kind outside of court. Just don’t tell them I told you that, they like to play the big and strong ruler game,” I inform them. The Cullens look like my head has grown to the size of a house.

“If you think Caius apologizing was scary, Carlisle, you should have seen what happened yesterday. Here I was, just doing my shifts around the castle, and I hear this giggling coming from Marcus’ room,” I duck my head, knowing what was to come. Marcus and I were just having some fun, I swear. “I went to make sure that nothing was going on. It is my duty as the queen’s personal guard. I go to open the door and I find them both on the bed, laughing and giggling like mad people, tickling each other. I swear I’ve never closed a door faster.”

“Never thought I would see the day,” Carlisle whispers, before looking me in the eye and saying, “I am glad that those three have been able to find eternal love with you. I know that you will be a good fit for them. I apologize on behalf of Edward and Bella, they do not understand the bond of a true mate. I am sorry that I did not check their letters before they sent them, that is on me.”

“Carlisle, what your son and his girlfriend said is not on you. The actions of your family have nothing to do with you. I just hate that I lost two close friends. Unless they wish to sincerely apologize, I do not wish to see them. I am still hurt by what Alice suggested. What a thing to ask of a person, to ask your friend to reject their true mate,” I whisper the last part. Carlisle sighs and gives me a hug. I return the gesture and smile.

I waved to the Cullens before leaving to see Renata and Corin. The two of them were sweet to me, often helping me decide what I would wear to see my mates. They were on the personal guard of Aro and Caius respectively.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sulpicia coming towards me. I rolled my eyes, ready for the offhand remarks and claims of understanding Aro better than I ever could. She was just plain rude. I had my doubts that she even loved my mate.  _ I bet she just wants the power that I have now. If she had been Aro’s true mate, she would be a queen. She’s a power hungry bitch.  _

“Go away, Sulpicia, we don’t want you here,” I spit. Sulpicia laughs, taking a sip of her champagne.

“Girl, you have no idea who I am,” Sulpicia says to me. I groan, turning away from her. She sped in front of me and I stared into those red eyes of her.

“Not only are you a homewrecker, but you aren't even a pretty one. Please, Aro will be over you in a week," she whispers before leaving the ballroom. I growl and gracefully walk over to my three mates despite my annoyance with Aro’s ex-wife.

“What ever is the matter, il mio amore?” Aro asks, pulling his arm around me, Caius and Marcus beside him.

“Why can’t Sulpicia just find herself at the bottom of a volcano?” I ask Aro, causing Marcus and Caius to laugh. The rest of the ballroom turns to hear the noise coming out of their usually comatose king.  _ Seriously, can I push her into a volcano? _

“What has she said, cara mia?” Aro looks annoyed. He didn’t seem to be annoyed at me, no, he looked annoyed that I was annoyed. “Let me guess, she made some comment about us being together and then walked away?”

“In her words, _ “Not only are you a homewrecker, but you aren't even a pretty one. Please, Aro will be over you in a week.", _ ” I inform my mate, who growls at the insult. “Can’t we like, kick her out or something? She’s a bitch and the guard hates her. Literally, they told me that they hate her. Marcus, back me up here. You can see the hate bonds, can’t you?” I look to Marcus for some support. Aro looks at his soul brother.

“They do hate her, Aro, every single one of the guards. I’ve never seen such unified hatred before,” Marcus tells Aro, who sighs and nods his head.

“We can get rid of her, il mio amore,” Aro says. I could see Felix and Demetri cheering. Alec and Jane pumped their fists up. “The entire guard can hear us, can’t they?”

“Yup.”


	10. Old Friends and Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Ωχ, πόσο ωραίο είναι να σε βλέπω, παλιό φίλο! Aro, how good it is to see you, old friend!
> 
> Αλέξανδρος, ήταν πάρα πολύ καιρό! Λυπάμαι που άκουσα ότι δεν μπορούσατε να φτάσετε στην τελευταία μπάλα. Είσαι πάντα χαρά που έχεις. Alexandros, it has been too long! I was sorry to hear that you could not come to the last ball. You are always a joy to have around.
> 
> Ναι, ξέρεις πώς μπορούν να πάρουν τα νεογέννητα. Μιλώντας για αυτό, πρόκειται να γυρίσετε τον σύντροφό σας σύντομα; Ah yes, you know how newborns can get. Speaking of which, are you going to be turning your mate anytime soon?
> 
> Θα γίνω 18, Αλέξανδρος. I will turn by 18, Alexandros
> 
> Δεν ήξερα ότι μιλούσατε ελληνικά, αγάπη μου. I didn't know that you spoke Greek, my love.
> 
> Υπάρχουν πολλά πράγματα που δεν γνωρίζετε, αγαπητέ μου. There are a lot of things that you do not know, dear.
> 
> Μήπως η βασίλισσα κατάφερε να κρατήσει κάτι πέρα από τον βασιλιά της; Νομίζω ότι θα μου αρέσει ο σύντροφος σου, Άρο. Has the queen managed to keep something past her king? I think that I am going to like your mate, Aro.
> 
> Aro, μην είσαι τόσο γκρινιάρης. Εγώ και ο Αλέξανδρος ξεγελάσαμε. Ξέρω πέντε γλώσσες, τρεις από τις οποίες είναι Αγγλικά, Ιταλικά και Ελληνικά. Δεν ξέρω γιατί φαίνεται να εκπλαγείτε, σας είπα ότι ήμουν καλός με τη γλώσσα. Aro, don't be so grumpy. Alexandros and I were just fooling with you. I know five languages, three of which being English, Italian, and Greek. I don't know why you seem to be so surprised, I did tell you I was good with language.
> 
> Τι άλλες γλώσσες γνωρίζει η νεαρή βασίλισσα; What other languages does our young queen know?
> 
> Français. French
> 
> и русский. And Russian
> 
> Έχετε παρενοχλήσει τον σύντροφό μου, τον Αλέξανδρο; Have you been harassing my mate, Alexandros?
> 
> Αφήστε τον Αλέξανδρο μόνο, Κάιους. Leave Alexandros alone, Caius.
> 
> Μιλάτε Ελληνικά τώρα; Δεν μου το είπες ποτέ... You speak Greek now? You never told me...
> 
> Ποιός είναι αυτός? Who's this?
> 
> Bonjour Louisa, j'espère que tu passes un bon moment ce soir. Hello, Louisa, I hope that you are having a good time tonight
> 
> C'est un honneur d'être ici ce soir, ma reine. Les Volturi seront toujours nos alliés. Je suis impressionné par vos compétences en français, avez-vous étudié pendant vos études? It is an honor to be here tonight, my queen. The Volturi will always be our allies. I am impressed by your skills in French, did you study during your time in school?

There was little to no human food at the Volturi ball, as was to be expected when you consider the fact that none of the people there were humans who would eat human food. Although, they did order a blood fountain, just to be fancy. I wouldn’t drink from that, I would be an idiot to try and drink human blood as a human myself.  _ That damn fountain was probably just to show off. Aro and his dramatics as usual. _

Even before I had become a part of the coven, Alice had told me about the lavish parties that the Volturi would throw once every few decades. The last ball of this size was in the 50s, where the Volturi even started to take pictures with the guests, marvelling at what humans could invent in their free time.

While the Volturi did not hold as much value for human life as the Cullens, they did use many of their inventions around the castle. I had even seen Jane with a phone and some earbuds in her ears. With everyone’s super hearing, it was best for the vampires to use noise cancelling earbuds. The music seemed to calm her down and make her smile. Alec had even taken one of the buds and listened to the same music as his twin, not without some fuss from Jane of course, as he had taken one of her precious earbuds out.

Out of the entire guard, Jane and Alec were the most feared by outsiders. The tales of the two of them reaching vampires all over the world. I could see how Jane’s ability to cause pure torture would be frightening, even to vampires. Even if she could not kill a vampire with her ability, she could easily render someone immoble enough to rip their limbs off and throw them in a pyre.

Alec, while much quieter than his twin, was still just as feared as Jane. His ability to deprive you of all senses is frightening. They came as a pair, never being away from one another for long. I had heard their story from Aro, who had been the one to save them from their deaths. Burned at the stake, they had been. Jane held more hatred for humans than her brother, but I could still see that he held a certain disdain for humanity. The two of them had every right to hate human beings after what they had done to them. Humans as a whole try to kill anyone who looks, sounds, or acts different from them. They had been turned so young and had gone through so much in their human life. Aro clearly thought of them as his own children, spoiling them rotten and giving them whatever they pleased.

Most of the people who had shown up to the ball had a certain sense of regality to them. None of them were new vampires and spoke older versions of languages that I could not decipher. While I could understand the old French and Italian, the Yiddish was where they caught me by surprise. I had never learned German or Hebrew, even if they had been offered to me. I never thought that I would find anyone who spoke the damn language. I mean, who still speaks Yiddish besides someone’s bubby?

Almost out of my hearing range, I could hear a few people speaking Greek. It was still unknown to my mate that I spoke the language. The language, while I never actually thought I would use it in a normal conversation, caught my eye. During the last year, I had learned it. A new series had come out, Percy Jackson, that focused on the demigod offspring of the gods and goddesses. I was already obsessed the second I read the first page. I had gotten into an obsession, learning greek and studying the greek gods in my free time.

I guess my obsession would finally pay off.

“Ωχ, πόσο ωραίο είναι να σε βλέπω, παλιό φίλο!” The man greeted Aro in greek. I smirked, knowing that Aro would be surprised by my knowledge of languages. He already knew that I spoke Italian and English, but he did not know of the other three languages.

“Αλέξανδρος, ήταν πάρα πολύ καιρό! Λυπάμαι που άκουσα ότι δεν μπορούσατε να φτάσετε στην τελευταία μπάλα. Είσαι πάντα χαρά που έχεις,” Aro gives the man a half hug. Alexandros, such a greek name. He must have been around the same age as Aro, maybe a bit younger.

“Ναι, ξέρεις πώς μπορούν να πάρουν τα νεογέννητα. Μιλώντας για αυτό, πρόκειται να γυρίσετε τον σύντροφό σας σύντομα;” Alexandros asked my mate, wanting to know the vital question. It was a good question. Nobody here knew just how long I would be staying human.

I decided that this was my time to answer his question instead of Aro giving a vague answer. Even he did not know when I would turn since I had always evaded the question. “Θα γίνω 18, Αλέξανδρος,” I answer. Aro looks more than shocked. If his face could pale even further, it would have become a blinding white.

“Δεν ήξερα ότι μιλούσατε ελληνικά, αγάπη μου,” Aro sputters out in greek. Alexandros and I quietly laugh at my mate and his reaction. If you could get a reaction out of Aro, you would laugh while you could.

“Υπάρχουν πολλά πράγματα που δεν γνωρίζετε, αγαπητέ μου,” I tease. Alexandros has to hold his hand over his mouth to hold in his laughter. Aro just scowls at what has gone down. Alexandros and I had trapped him, the king of the Volturi.

“Μήπως η βασίλισσα κατάφερε να κρατήσει κάτι πέρα από τον βασιλιά της; Νομίζω ότι θα μου αρέσει ο σύντροφος σου, Άρο,” Alexandros comments, causing Aro to groan.

“Aro, μην είσαι τόσο γκρινιάρης. Εγώ και ο Αλέξανδρος ξεγελάσαμε. Ξέρω πέντε γλώσσες, τρεις από τις οποίες είναι Αγγλικά, Ιταλικά και Ελληνικά. Δεν ξέρω γιατί φαίνεται να εκπλαγείτε, σας είπα ότι ήμουν καλός με τη γλώσσα,” I try and console my annoyed mate, who had a tendency to get a bit pissy whenever something did not go his way. He was spoiled like that.

“ Τι άλλες γλώσσες γνωρίζει η νεαρή βασίλισσα;” Alexandros asks.

“Français,” I inform, “и русский.”

“Okay, what the hell is going on over here?” Caius had come over to join in, hearing so many mixtures of language that he had to find out what was happening. “Έχετε παρενοχλήσει τον σύντροφό μου, τον Αλέξανδρο;” Caius asks Alexandros in greek, still not getting the memo.

“Αφήστε τον Αλέξανδρο μόνο, Κάιους,” I defend Alexandros, who looked Caius in the eye and smirked.

“Μιλάτε Ελληνικά τώρα; Δεν μου το είπες ποτέ…” Caius pouts before suddenly realizing something important. “Wait, so when my brothers and I have been having special meetings, the ones where you sit on the couch, you've been able to understand us?”

“Yup,” I replied. Caius and Aro groan as Marcus comes over with another person at his side. “Ποιός είναι αυτός?”

Marcus’ mouth dropped before looking to his brothers for help on what was going on.

“Don’t ask, brother, the answers you seek will shock you,” Caius deadpans. Alexandros laughs.

“Okay then,” Marcus turns to me and says, “I have our allies here in France. Louisa is the leader of the Paris coven.”

“This is going to be good,” Alexandros snickers. Marcus glares at him and Alexandros shuts up.

“Bonjour Louisa, j'espère que tu passes un bon moment ce soir,” I greet the coven leader. Marcus looks impressed, but still confused. The woman shakes my hand quickly.

“C'est un honneur d'être ici ce soir, ma reine. Les Volturi seront toujours nos alliés. Je suis impressionné par vos compétences en français, avez-vous étudié pendant vos études?” Louisa asks.

“Oui. You will find that the American school systems suck at most things, but most of the schools that I have been to have had exceptional foreign language programs,” I explain the last part in English. My mates just stared, mouths agape at my conversation with the woman.

“I should be getting back to my coven now, but it was great to meet my new queen. I do hope that you bring happiness along with your reign, Queen Annalise,” The woman’s clear French accent showed when she spoke.

When you have to focus on one thing at a time, you will often find yourself taking interest in one or two subjects. I was jack shit at math, but I could learn a language quicker than anybody else in the class, often finding myself going ahead in the book while people tried to keep up with the curriculum. ADHD was truly a blessing and a curse. I didn’t find it to be a bad thing, it was just a part of who I am as a person. Just like anyone, I had my struggles in things. Language was the way that I learned to stand out, to make my other grades not matter as much. I had gotten through three AP language courses through my 4 years of highschool. I was fluent in 5 languages by the age of 16.

In a way, language has saved me. Not only that, but now my skills would be useful. Covens spoke many different languages around the world. They had all the time in the world to learn English, but I bet many would still speak in their native tongue. Just because people have the time does not mean that they will. I would rather not have to have one of my mates translate what people are saying to me.

“I did not know you were so blessed with knowledge in the linguistics department,” Marcus says, putting his arm around me. I had grown tired already. I danced, I met a few new people and I saw my old friends and their coven.

“When you have my learning problems, you focus on one thing. That one thing for me was learning many different languages. I was good at it and it made my failing math grades not look as bad. I clearly was not destined to be a mathematician,” I muse.

“I was not very good at mathematics when I was young. No tutor could seem to get it through my thick human skull,” Caius whines at the thought of his childhood, “You are lucky that they have rules against beating children. Ah, Ancient Greece was a different time.”

“Yes, Caius, I think we all remember those times quite well. At least it was just the tutor for you, my father hated when I would spell my letters poorly and would make me write the letters again and again all night,” Aro chuckled painfully at the memories.

“Was I the only one with decent parents and tutors?” Marcus asks, looking quite worried at the treatment of their soul brother during their human years.

“Yes, yes you are,” Alexandros deadpans. “Ancient Greece was shit. Great food and great new innovations, but it really was shit. Don’t tell me you don’t remember how they treated the poor?”

“I guess I was just not paying attention to that. You were just as wealthy as us, Alexandros. Hell, you lived right across from us, in that stupidly clean house of yours filled to the brink with young children,” Marcus retorts.  _ Wait, they knew each other before they were vampires? That would make sense. Maybe they were turned by the same person. _

“The human days are far behind us. Now we’re immortal and eat people,” Alexandros grimaces. “Now you’re a king and I’m still here by your side. At least now you’re happy and not a depressing slab of stone.”

“I was not a slab of stone, was I, Aro?” Aro looks down and slowly nods. I laughed.  _ You literally called yourself a slab of stone the other day, Marcus. Your memory seems to be failing you with your old age. _

“Says the one who actually used Alexandros’ phrase the other day and called himself a slab of stone to cheer me up,” Caius lets out an  _ ooh. _ Aro and Alexandros laugh as Marcus groans. “What, didn’t think I would remember?”

“I had hope,” Marcus kisses me on the head.

“When has hope ever gotten you anywhere?” Caius snarks.

“When has being mean gotten anyone anywhere but six feet under?” I snark back, defending my poor Marcus from being beaten on too badly.

“Cara mia! I am not mean, I’m just-” Everyone cuts him off.

“Annoyed,” Aro says.

“Angry,” Alexandros says.

“The actual slab of stone.”


	11. Do I Want to be Human?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about inconsistent updates! Technically I've already completed this book and just need to copy and paste, but I'm a bit lazy sometimes. I'll try to get it over completely as soon as possible!

After the night was over, I was allowed some time alone in Aro’s room. I had to say, his room was a hell of a lot messier than the other two’s. Papers were thrown all over the desk. When I made a comment, he just called it  _ organized chaos.  _ Yeah, no, the man was just messy as hell with his work. It wasn’t that I minded, as long as his papers didn’t reach the bed or his bookshelves, it was just that it was so damn hard to not go through everything and clean it for him, which he asked me not to do. Sensitive papers and such that he would rather me not read at the moment.

I had been pondering whether or not Edward and Bella really were mates these past few days. Mates were people who filled each other in ways nobody else could. They give suicidal people a reason to live. As much as they would deny it, Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen are not true mates. If they were, Edward would have been in physical pain while being separated from Bella. He wouldn’t have been able to leave her. They act like their love is better than mine, but my loves were made  _ for me.  _ Nothing could painlessly separate us. Their love had a time limit.

My love is timeless, eternal in it’s own right, even with my human body.

The two of them would live together for however long it takes one of them to find their true mate. Hopefully by then, they will have realized that they need to be with one one that they were destined for, made for. Their love is childish and will soon outgrow them. Edward was young when he was turned and seems to still have his teenage behaviors. I don’t think that he knows what he has done to me, his friends, and his family.

Carlisle Cullen would always be the only father figure I ever had. He would forever be like a father to me, even when I called him by his first name. The man had a kindness in his heart that could not be tarnished by anything, even if he did eat animals. He had respect for other people and their diets, unlike Edward and seemingly Alice. The girl had barely talked to me throughout the ball, sticking with her family and the Denali Coven.

Esme Cullen was a motherly figure for everyone. She cared about children. I know that she would always care for me, no matter my life choices. Her kindness is one of the reasons why the fates had put her with Carlisle, the two of them were unfathomably kind and welcomed all sorts of people into their family without question. Esme would be like a mother to me even after I turned. I would miss her cooking though, she’s the best cook that I know.

No matter what Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen say to me, I know that they are wrong. They will always be wrong about my mates, about me and my future as a queen. I will not be cruel like they say I will be. No, I’ll be kind. I’ll show them just how kind I can be. Vampires will fear the Volturi, that has and will always be the case, but they will not fear an iron fist from me. Criminals will not be tolerated, but I will bring down justice in a fair way. Every corner, every single corner, will help us unravel the truth in every case.

_ I need to be turned. _

________________________________________________________________

The decision of turning had come up already at the ball last month. It would have to come up again. I wanted to turn. My mates would then no longer have to worry so much about me. As a vampire, I would be able to not only protect myself, but feel the mating bond as they do.

It wasn’t like I didn’t feel the bond at all, it was just muddled, blocked by my humanity. I felt the snaps that would occur when I was with the three of them, the snaps that screamed  _ mate  _ at me. From what Marcus had said, the bond only can be completed when both parties are vampires. It sucked, but that was the truth.

I would have to turn eventually anyways, so why not sooner? Humanity was just looking worse on me day by day.

“Aro,” I whined into my mate’s chest. Aro ran his hand through my hair and hushed me, softly kissing my head. “Aro, we do need to talk about stuff.”  
“What is it that you want to talk about, il mio amore?” my raven headed mate asks, looking a little bit concerned. Nothing good usually comes out when someone says _we need to talk about stuff._ Thankfully, I’m not something usual. I’m an annoying human with ADHD.

“I want to turn,” I blurt out, still grabbing his chest and rubbing my head against his soft jacket. “I want to be like you guys. I know that I’ll have to do it at some point, so why not just do it sooner rather than later?”

Aro clicked his tongue. “You do realize that this is a big change, cara mia? To change into an immortal is a painful process. It can take up to five days and truly does, mind my language, hurt like a bitch,” I laugh. Aro was not one to swear in front of me. I knew that it would hurt  _ like a bitch,  _ but I still wanted to get it over with. There was nothing good coming out of me as a human. I couldn’t go into any more trials due to their overprotectiveness over me and I couldn’t walk around the castle as I pleased. My humanity felt more like a cage than anything.

“I know that it will hurt. I don’t really care how much because the brain will forget the pain as a trauma response. Me being human doesn’t help you guys. You can be close to me, but only because you have so much control. I shouldn’t have to test you. I want to roam freely, to be able to be in the guard room without having a guard on me. This place is crawling with vampires who are having their control unreasonably tested by my stupid blood,” Aro sighs at my words.

“Is there any way that I can get you to reconsider your humanity and it’s worth to the Volturi, tesoro?” I shook my head at him. “Well, they can’t say that I didn’t try. Demetri!” Aro called out to the guard outside the door.

“Yes, Master Aro?” Demetri popped his head in to ask.

“Please go and grab my brothers,” I was shocked that Aro even used  _ please.  _ He had never been so kind to the guard in front of me, usually having to have me pester him about manners.

________________________________________________________________

“You want to do what?” Caius asked, clearly not believing what he was hearing.  _ What, did he not want me to become one of them? Is me becoming a vampire so bad to my mates? Am I somehow better as a human? The bond cannot be completed while I am human! I want to be with them forever, and forever means drinking blood and completing this bond!  _ I rant internally.

“I want to be turned, Caius, is that so hard to believe? I want to be with you all forever. I want to complete the bond with you!” I exclaim, annoyed with how my mate was acting.  _ I know that this is big, but I still want to do it! It’s going to happen one of these days. _

“It is not hard to believe, cara mia, it is just that you seem to have made this decision very quickly. I personally do not wish for you to regret this decision later on and long for more time as a human being. You becoming an immortal would make me happy, but it is not a requirement,” Marcus places his cold hand in mine to try and calm me.

“Look, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t regret what they get their mind set on doing. If I want something, I just get upset until I get it. Being immortal is a requirement for me, no matter what it is for you. Honestly, being human sucks. I bleed every month down there and get all pissy. Not only that, but right now I’m fragile and can be classified as a late afternoon snack,” I point out.

“The monthly thing can’t be that-” I glared at him and cut Caius off.

“I swear to all that is holy you are not allowed to say  _ it can’t be that bad  _ because you’re a fucking man and have not had to go through the pain that is a period. It  _ hurts.  _ Honestly, I’m going to see how changing compares to my period pains, because they’re probably similar. I have to be on special pills because I pass out all the time, scream, and cry during that week,” I inform my mates who just gulped at my clear anger.  _ They had no right to claim that they couldn’t be that bad! They have dicks! _

“I am sorry, cara mia, you are right, I don’t have a right to speak about issues I know nothing about,” Caius apologises, looking guilty.

“It’s okay, amore, I forgive you,” Caius smiles as if a huge weight had been taken off of his shoulders. “Anyways, being a human sucks ass. Don’t think that I haven’t thought this idea through, I really have. Actually, I’ve been thinking about it for a month straight. I won’t regret this.”

“We will do whatever will make you happiest, tesoro, but note that turning and being in the newborn stage is hard. You will crave human blood all the time, or most of the time. Your emotions will be all over the place and you will most likely need us to be around you at all hours of the day to help soothe you through the bond. Newborns are known for throwing dangerous tantrums when upset. You’ll be volatile and dangerous for the first five months. After that, during the last six months of the newborn phase, you’ll calm down a bit, but you will still be stronger than almost all of the guard. You will still have cravings for blood. We can help you curb these cravings by giving you blood bags in between feedings. It is not the same, but they can help. Unlike most of the newborns of the Volturi, you will be allowed to walk around the castle. We have kept all newborns away from you so that they do not get uncomfortable with your very human scent around. I believe that our newest guards would like to meet you after your transformation,” Marcus explains.

_ Damn, imagining craving blood all the time just makes me queasy now. I mean, it won’t make me queasy when I turn, but drinking so much blood right now just makes me feel weird. _

“Having second thoughts, il mio amore?” Aro asks. Caius snickers from beside him.

“Not at all. It’ll just be weird, craving blood all the time. How long does it take for vampires to learn control? Can you teach newborns?” I ask Marcus.

“Yes and no. The way that newborns work is that they are just plain  _ uncontrollable.  _ They are strong and bulky, tearing through prey. The way that you feed them is how they learn control. You give a newborn a schedule with snacks and their minds will adhere to the schedule by the third month. We have scheduled feedings that have been the same for over 500 years. Same time, same place. It helps the guard with learning control. When you only hunt when you are feeling hungry, you get messed up. It is the main reason that we never switched to the Cullen diet. Animal blood works differently. Venom burns faster through some types of animal blood. We did quite a few tests on it about a century back. You know, for the sake of science and knowledge. Vampires who have control always have one thing in common: they eat at the same times,” Marcus informs me of the control issue. I laughed.

“What about control do you find funny, cara mia?” Caius questions.

“It’s not  _ funny  _ per se, but I also do that. Have you noticed? I eat at the same time each day. Humans are similar in that way. When you eat at the same time, it’s easier to resist the snacks all around you.”

“You are not a snack!”

“Mhmmm,” I laughed at Caius before turning to Aro again, “So, when can we do this? Wait, do you guys have some sort of special ritual? That would be so cool.”

“No ritual. I’m sorry about that, il mio amore. We can be with you the entire time that you turn. We do have a special room for turning people. If you ever in your time here hear screams from down there, it’s someone being turned,” I gulp.  _ Screams, scary shit then.  _ “Any one of us can turn you. We have perfect control.”

“Ah, decisions, decisions,” I muse, looking over at everyone. “Shit, this is like a big choice. What is the importance of a sire, anyways? Is that a special bond?” I ask.

“The person who sires a newborn can control them in a way. Yes, it shows up as a special bond on my bondsight as well. It is very important that a person has a good sire, as their sire will be the one that they listen to. Almost all vampires feel unwavering loyalty to the vampire who sired them. Newborns will gladly die for their sires, making them perfect weapons for evil people. Thankfully, we are not evil and we just love you,” I blush at Marcus’ words. “Who you chose is up to you. I should hope there will be no  _ hard feelings, _ ” Marcus looked to his two brothers who nodded their heads slowly.

It was probably the biggest decision of my life, who I would pick to be my sire. I had unwavering loyalty to all three of them. I would already die for any of them. I knew that they would all be as gentle as possible.

“Uhm, I guess I can have Marcus sire me. Sorry, Aro and Caius, no hard feelings, right?” I ask, worried that I would hurt the feelings of my two other mates.  _ Jesus, who knew being with three men would be like this. The big decisions have such odd complications like this. _

“No hard feelings, il mio amore,” Aro says in his cheery voice. Caius repeated Aro, most likely covering up some amounts of jealousy. I couldn’t blame either of them for being jealous, this kind of thing would be life changing. “As long as we can be there in the room to comfort you, we will be happy. If it hurts too much, we can call Alec to put you to sleep.”

Ah yes, then there was the pain that Alec could take away. That might be nice.

“When would you like to turn? We can clear our schedules for any time. Trials can wait until you turn. We have space in the dungeons,” Caius asks.

“I think that I want this done as soon as possible. How does tomorrow sound?”


	12. Letters to Nobody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Mention of past bullying, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempt

It was my last day of humanity, a day that would have dreaded me if you had told me about two months ago. To become a vampire was a task, a very painful task. My mates had warned me, but I could not be convinced. Marcus would turn me into a vampire today. I would most likely turn over the course of a few days.

I spent the entire day writing. Aro had told me that I would likely forget major parts of my human life. I couldn’t have that happen. No, my story would never be a mystery. I couldn’t forget the memories that made me the person I am today. I wrote the abbreviated version of my life story.

_ Dear those who find themselves reading this, _

_ Whether it is myself reading this or someone else who has taken to snooping, hello. This will be my last day as a human being. I am not scared to die, as I know that I will be reborn from the venom. I will still be myself, but immortal. _

_ Over the past 17 years I have learned many things. I’ll write my story here. Maybe if the Volturi loses power and I die, the people next will read this, the only entry of this diary. Although I do hope forever truly is until the sun takes over this world, you can never know. Anything can happen. Things change. I have learned that well enough. _

_ I’ll start you from the beginning. I was born addicted to a few drugs. My mother’s name was Pearl Monroe and who my father is, I have no clue. I can’t remember anything from before I went into foster care. Those memories have already dissipated. I most likely did not have a good childhood. When I went to my first home, I did not feel safe. Yes, I was guarded and the people there were good, but I never felt safe, no matter where I would end up going. The names of my old foster parents do not matter. They play little roles here and there, but they never did make much of an impact on me. _

_ My second family was the family that had the most impact on me. They were emotionally and verbally abusive towards me. I did not do very well in math and science growing up. They took that as a tarnish on their reputations and placed me back in the system. In a way, I am glad that I did not have to stay with them any longer than I did. They hurt me in ways that no child should be hurt. I needed help and they gave me away. _

_ By the time that reached middle school I was not doing very well. I had just moved homes and needed new friends. I made some. Guess what, they dumped me as friends on my birthday in 6th grade. Cruel, right? Worst birthday of my life. They turned their backs on me. I became emotionless. I didn’t say much after that. I did everything, turned in most of my assignments, only failing a few classes at some points. I was numb. _

_ The only way I could release that emotion was through cutting my own skin. I think that was when my affinity for blood became known. I would have to lick my wounds, not wanting to go and grab a band-aid, lest my foster family figure out what I was doing. Eventually they did find out and placed me in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. The second part of the program was hell. I felt so useless, like nothing would ever get better for me. I felt like some part of me had broken and would be unfixable. I felt like nobody would ever love me again. _

_ I was 12 when I first attempted to kill myself. I had been 11 when I first hurt myself. Nothing I tried worked. In my life, I have attempted to take my life 6 different times, each time just landing me in the same endless loop of depression. I just wanted the pain to stop. Nobody was wanting to listen, to be around me. Everyone called me an attention seeker. They were right, but what I just needed was someone to be there for me and give me love and affection. _

_ In a way, I have never been happy. Something was always wrong. I don’t mean in a snotty and perfectionistic sense, either. Something just felt wrong with me. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere, like if I had just died I would have been in a better place. I had hoped I would just get what I deserved in whatever hell could exist after death. _

_ My last attempt was right after I moved to Forks, Washington. I had jumped off a bridge. It was the first time that I met Edward and Carlisle. The doctor, Carlisle, had asked me why I had tried to kill myself. I told him everything. For the first time, I told someone everything that had happened to me. He didn’t make fun of me either. I knew that people had it worse than me, had worse situations, and that I shouldn’t have tried. I had nobody. I thought that I was some nobody that could just die and nobody would even bat an eye. _

_ I couldn’t go back to a psych ward, I knew that. After Carlisle and I had that chat, he opened up to me. Apparently, in his youth, or as he said, a really long time ago, he had tried many ways of attempting to kill himself. He said it was because he hated what he was and that he was just lonely. For the first time, I felt like somebody understood why I did it, why I had tried. He offered to introduce me to his children that were going to go to the same school as me. _

_ Rosalie had been the first one to become close with me. I think she knew that deep inside, I was hurting, no matter how many times that I said I was fine. I wasn’t fine. I never had been fine once in my life. At this time, I didn’t know that they were vampires. _

_ Now that I know Jasper’s powers, I know that he could feel the depression radiating off of me. I feel bad now. I know that my moods would have affected his own. He still stayed by my side. He didn’t always say much, but his smile was enough to cheer me up. _

_ With Rosalie came Emmett, her hunk of a boyfriend. He was just a man child. He is a man child. On the inside, he’s a teddy bear. He would protect me against any bullies that showed up. I had even started to sit at their table. At that table we would talk about nothing. I had finally made some friends, some really good friends. _

_ I haven’t talked much about Edward or Alice yet because they hurt me. You’ll soon find out why. _

_ One day, when I was sitting at the table, Jasper had started to laugh at something and Edward said that he should keep those thoughts to himself. It was that moment that they all knew they would have to tell me what was going on, because I knew something was off. They knew that keeping something from me would get me hurt in the long run. I would have spiraled again. I couldn’t afford to spiral again, not then, not when I was starting to get better. _

_ I believed them when they told me. They all thought that it was odd that I trusted them that much. I did, I trusted them with my life. I put my heart in their hands. I had told them my story, and it was then time for me to hear their stories. When I went to their house that day, Carlisle and Esme would then tell me their stories. I related the most to Carlisle in Esme, as they had the same problems as me. I felt the worst for Rose. Her story, while not something I would share in this note, is the saddest story I have ever heard. Thankfully, only the beginning was sad. I hope that the end of her story never comes. _

_ When Bella came, everything was crazy. Things were divided. I stayed out of it, instead befriending Bella. She loved me like a sister. Loved, past tense. I bet she hates me now. She will hate me forever. I will never forgive you. Never speak to me again. It hurts when such a beautiful friendship dies. I still don’t think I did anything wrong. I did not choose who my mates were. I think that if I could, I would still choose them. _

_ When Bella went into her depression over Edward and the rest of the Cullens leaving, I was there. I was always there. Even when their departure most likely hurt me more than it hurt her. She lost her love, I lost my life. That is what makes us different. In the end, I can handle more loss. In the end, I will always be stronger. _

_ Edward was going to kill himself because he thought Bella killed herself. Alice, Bella and I went to Italy to stop him. We were found out. I was hungry. Fuck, Alice hadn’t given me food a month ago and I went crazy. _

_ Funny how a month changes everything. _

_ We had gone inside the throne room. Then I saw him. God, he was so perfect. Standing right before me was Aro Volturi. I didn’t realize who he was at first. I didn’t know anybody’s name. The Cullens had told Bella but not me. I will forever be salty over that. _

_ But seriously, he was perfect. That raven hair, that pale skin. He was truly a god in his own right. When he looked into my eyes, brown versus red, it was like something that I had always needed, always wanted, snapped into place. The snap was the best feeling I had ever felt. It was better than any food, any drink, and any other pleasurable feeling, _

_ We may have to go back on that later, I’m still a virgin at the moment. _

_ When I heard their names I knew. It was like some sort of knowledge been given to me by some divine being. Everything was going to be perfect with them. My life was then truly complete. At least, until Edward and Bella opened their mouths. _

_ They called them monsters. Edward said that they would never love me. My friends, my family, rejected the people that made me whole. It made me sad. I was so upset. It hurt me. I let them in. I finally let someone in. They had taken that and thrown it out the window when they insulted my mates straight to my face. They tried to get me to leave with them. No, I couldn’t have done that, not after they betrayed my trust. _

_ You can’t just leave a feeling like that. You can’t leave that bond to die. _

_ They only thought of themselves. They hadn’t thought of what it would do to me, to my heart and to my life. To leave my mates would shatter me, even as a human. I would have been truly broken, never being able to fix. They had become my lifeline when they snapped their bonds into place. _

_ They wanted me to let go of my lifelines. _

_ So I broke their hearts instead of mine. I did what I had to do. If they couldn’t love me with my mates then they didn’t deserve me. The next day I got angry letters from Edward and Bella. At that moment, Bella became Isabella. I would not use her nickname any longer. _

_ In that moment, I had learned where my true loyalties lie. _

_ I am the queen of the Volturi. I am Annalise Volturi. Not Annalise Monroe. Monroe is the name of the mother that put me into this cruel world and decided she loved drugs more than her own flesh and blood. _

_ I am Queen Annalise of the Volturi, and this is my story. _


	13. Immortality

Humanity, it was the one thing I had learned to dislike about being on the Earth. Today was the day that I would rid myself from it’s confines.

The process itself was actually quite straightforward. Marcus would bite me, I would scream and cry out in pain, and then I would be reborn. I had been given the choice of having Alec put me out of my misery with his gift, and I had halfway agreed. Alec would put me out once I gave the signal. I wanted to feel the pain. Getting the easy way out just seemed wrong. I would only tell Alec to put me out when I was at my very limit.

The room that I stood in was a slate gray, the walls being that of pure stone. It felt more like a torture chamber than a changing room. Then again, from what I had heard about changing, it could be both.

My mates were at my side, awaiting for me to lay down on the steel table. I sucked in a large breath and slowly walked to the cold table. Aro and Caius walked to my left side, giving Marcus access to my neck for when he would bite. My mate would bite when I asked him to.

I could tell that Alec was worried. He must have watched this happen at least a few times. I mean, he was the one who could numb the pain of the change. These kinds of affairs were the kind that the rest of the world did not pay attention to. They only paid attention to how Alec could incapacitate an enemy, not how he could numb the pain of turning or the pain of a friend. In a way, his gift was one of kindness, not cruelty.

Aro squeezed my hand. My heart was beating at the speed of light. I knew that this was what I wanted, what I needed. This was the right decision. It was just the act of going through with it was stressful. I did not want my mates to be away while I did this, but I also did not want my mates to see me in such a horrifying state. I would likely be screaming and crying the entire time. Putting them through that would be awful.

“Cara mia, are you okay?” Caius asks. “Your heart-”

“I’m fine, Caius. Just. . .” I sigh, squeezing Aro’s cold hand. “Do it, Marcus,” I tell Marcus, who took in a deep, unneeded breath, before biting into my neck.

The pain that I felt after that was unnerving. I could feel the venom spreading throughout my body. I tried to keep myself quiet, not wanting to hurt anyone’s ears. My mates grimaced as I thrashed around. It was hot, like liquid fire running through me. I felt like I was being burned alive on the inside as my mate’s venom infected me. I let out one cry before my vision started to get starry. Tears leaked from my eyes as my heart started to hurt.

Everything was starting to hurt worse than it had before. Before it was fire, now it was poison. Now the poison had started to take effect. Nothing felt right. Everything was wrong. The venom was sending depressive signals to my brain that just made me want to hurry up and die already. The pain that I felt from the process of dying was not what I thought it would be. I knew that I would eventually be okay, but right now I was not okay. I was hurting more than ever.

My head couldn’t keep focus as I began to feel weak. This was what happened when a vampire fed, this weakness was to keep them down. Caius looked as if he was going to go crazy as I cried out, my back uncomfortably hitting the table. The bond between us was shaking from their stress over my reaction to the pain. I could feel their emotions much clearer, even in my turning form. They were upset that I was upset.

This was pain unlike any other. This was the kind of pain that you could never even dream of. It was a nightmare.

I move my head slightly to look at Alec. It had become too much, the pain was going to eat me alive. I nodded my head at him and the darkness washed over me.

The pain was finally gone.

___________________________________________

Time had stilled in the time that Alec had knocked me out. There were no dreams, no light, no sounds, just pure peace. Everything was just simply  _ gone.  _

When I woke up, I was in Aro’s room, in his chambers. I opened my eyes only to see my mates on the other side of the bed. I jumped up, running to the wall, simply startled by what was going on. In a way, I had already forgotten so much. My memories blurred together as I tried to keep myself upright.

“Il mio amore, it is just us, do not be frightened. Do you still remember?” Aro asks, staying a fair distance from me.  _ Aro, my handsome mate. All of my handsome mates. Vampire. I’m a vampire. I’m not human anymore. This is the Volturi. _

“I remember you, it’s okay,” I run over and tackle Aro to the bed. Caius and Marcus laugh at Aro’s predicament. “Sorry, Aro, I just wanted a hug.”

“It is alright, Il mio amore, it is just that you are a newborn. You are much stronger than the three of us right now,” Aro kisses my forehead and asks, “Can you let me go now?”

Quickly, I rush over to Caius and Marcus, allowing Aro to get up and off the bed, the few cracks that had appeared on his face disappearing. Caius and Marcus laugh and each hold one of my hands. “Wait, how long have I been out? What day is it now?” I pampered them with questions.

“You were out for three days, tesoro. It is currently Friday. You woke up right in time, it is time for your first feeding,” Caius informs. My mouth begins to pool with venom at the thought. “Come, cara mia, stay close to us. You know where they usually come in-” I didn’t let Caius say anything else as I sped down the hall.

I could see a few new guards watching me as I ran with my new speed. Thankfully, my mates had already dressed me in new clothes. I waved to Demetri as I stopped in front of the door. I knew that I would have to wait for my mates to get here before I could feed.

The hunger that I felt was overwhelming. My mouth was watering and I could barely keep myself from running inside and feeding until I couldn’t anymore. I heard all of their heartbeats. There was one that stood out. It called to me.

“Queen Annalise, you’ve finally come back. Alec was worried for a while that he had used too much power on you,” Demetri greeted. I smiled and had to stop breathing in order to keep myself from going crazy. “Ah, the hunger of the newborn stage. You’re doing well considering you probably  _ just  _ woke up. Never seen a newborn with that much control.”

I just hummed, trying to take my mind off of the appealing human inside. God, it smelled so good. I could hear as their heart beat and their blood flowed. My instincts were going crazy, yelling at me to just go in there and take what you need.

Thankfully, my mates showed up and opened the door. I knew how things worked. I would have to wait for a minute before feeding. Aro would play the role of the host of the tour and would then call for us to dine. Usually people would feel bad for thirsting for someone’s blood the way that I did, but I was too thirsty to even think about caring.

Marcus whispered something to Aro. My mate just nodded and pulled me close to him. Caius seemed to hear what was said, unlike me who was too focused on my first meal. He asked me a question I hadn’t even thought of, “Which one is your singer?”

The blood singer, the person’s blood that sung to you like a siren's call. Isabella was Edward’s singer. Knowing just how hungry their blood made me, I had no clue just how Edward managed to pull off what he did. “The one in the florals. Redhead,” I pointed to her. Caius simply nodded and whispered low enough for every vampire, but no human, to hear  _ Don’t go for the one with the Micheal Kors handbag and red hair. _

The rest of the vampires nodded as they saw my eyes on her.  _ Fuck, how does someone’s blood smell that good? Like, I could have this all day. Not the painful torture of that smell, but that blood running down my throat. She just smells so good. She must be about my age. Oh well, that’s the circle of life. I’m now a predator.  _

“Ah, this tour has come to an end. Bon appétit,” just as Aro clapped his hands together, I ran towards her, venom already pooled in my mouth. I needed her blood to stay sane. She was just perfect.

The girl dropped her bag and screamed as I tore into her neck, taking large gulps of her blood. As the blood dripped to the back of my throat, I felt pure euphoria. It just felt  _ right.  _ This was the way that I was supposed to be. I drank from her until I couldn’t get anymore into me, until she was completely drained of blood. Screams enveloped the room as the guards and my mates took their victims, some of the mated pairs even sharing their meals.

Caius had come over with a victim, holding out her neck. He gave her to me like some messed up kind of food offering. I smiled at him, blood on my mouth from my singer as I bit open this guy’s neck. His blood was not nearly as sweet, but it was tasty. The first one was euphoric, but the second one was a high nonetheless. I drank this one dry as well, Caius watching as he stopped kicked and died in my arms.

“You did well, cara mia. Here,” he handed me a napkin, “You have blood on your face still.” I took his napkin and wiped my face of the excess blood.

I ran over to Caius and kissed him straight on the mouth, not caring that I likely still had blood in my mouth. None of us had kissed yet, but now just felt like the right time. My mate had offered me food and that was the right way into my now dead heart. My mate kissed me back, putting his arms around me. We stayed still for a moment, only to be cut off by an unimpressed Aro and Marcus clearing their throats.

“Did you have to do that in front of our entire coven, Caius?” Aro deadpans. Caius looks offended, looking to me for some help. I giggle.

“I was the one that initiated that kiss, Aro. I can give you one later if you so please. God, you three are impossible sometimes,” I groan and start to walk out of the room. They stayed back for a second, looking at each other, before trailing after me.  _ They really are impossible. I wonder what the world would think if they knew that the great Volturi leaders trail their mate like lost puppies. _

My thirst had finally been quenched for the time being. I knew that I would be hungry again in about a day, the venom in my veins likely eating away at the blood faster than an older vampire. I wouldn’t get to actually feed for the next seven days, but that would be okay. We had blood bags. They would do the trick just fine.

As I sat back down on the bed, I realized for the first time that I would be unable to sleep. I used to love sleeping. Now, I just wasn’t tired at all. “Welcome to immortality, il mio amore.”


	14. Knowledge is Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ:
> 
> Ты выглядишь прекрасно. Бессмертие тебе идет. Если бы ты не была королевой, я бы сделала тебя своей. You look beautiful. Immortality suits you. If you were not the queen, I would make you mine.
> 
> Если окажется, что ваши привычки в еде так же отвратительны, как и флирт, я позволю Маркусу разорвать вас на части и бросить ваши останки в огонь. If it turns out you're as disgusting with your eating habits as you are with your flirting, I'll let Marcus be the one to rip you apart and toss your remains in the fire.

My life had never been simple in the slightest but being a queen had to be the most complicated thing I had ever done. Two days after my transformation I was set to be witness to the first trial since my turning. Although crimes had been committed since then, my mates had decided that it would be best if they took time off to help me adjust to immortality.

“Are you ready, il mio amore?” Aro asks me. I nod, holding his hand in mine. It didn’t feel as cold anymore, as I no longer had my own warm hand to compare it to. “I promise that you will be well guarded, il mio amore. None of the criminals will be able to get to you.”

“Aro, baby, I’m not worried about the criminals. Even if they  _ did  _ get to me, which they won’t with both Demetri and Felix by my side, I’m a newborn. I will be stronger than them and will likely be able to easily pull their heads right off. You three need to calm down. There is no way that I could get hurt during trial,” I try and comfort my agitated mate.

With immortality, I could read his emotions much better, knowing when he was happy or annoyed. It was good for many things, but it became overwhelming sometimes, as I would read and react to all of my mates emotions. Marcus says that this is normal and that it is not a power like Jasper’s if I can not read anyone else. He seemed to know everything about mates, so I just took everything he said as fact.

“I know, tesoro, it is just worrying, having you in there with those criminals. Most of the people that we find are proven guilty, as sad as that is. You are my mate and to even think of losing you is unbearable,” Aro’s voice grows quiet as we walk into the throne room. Caius and Marcus instantly turn their heads and smile at me.

Nobody had come in the room yet. Jane and Alec were likely dragging the man in, Lukas, who had been accused of feeding off of large families. I felt sick thinking about it. I still had morals. Feeding off of children is wrong in so many ways. Why would a person even want to drink that much blood at once anyways? I was a newborn and I would get full after the second person I ate. My hunger was supposed to be uncontrollable.

My mate sat down on his throne in the middle of the platform, looking smug as ever. Marcus laughed as I sat myself on Aro’s laugh unexpectedly, causing the raven-haired male to blink in shock. I kissed Aro’s cheek as the supposed criminal came in. His yellowish hair and his slightly battered clothes stood out. He was reasonable looking, not comparing to any of my mates in the slightest. He looked at me and smirked.

“I see the human queen is human no more,” Lukas says in a deep Russian accent. “Ты выглядишь прекрасно. Бессмертие тебе идет. Если бы ты не была королевой, я бы сделала тебя своей,” he says, not knowing that I can understand everything that he says. Marcus, the only one out of my mates that knows Russian, growls at Lukas and almost gets out of his throne.

“Если окажется, что ваши привычки в еде так же отвратительны, как и флирт, я позволю Маркусу разорвать вас на части и бросить ваши останки в огонь,” I sneer. Aro and Caius just sit back, not knowing exactly what was going on. Lukas’ breath hitches as Marcus laughs at him.

“What does it matter, my Queen? You will allow me to die either way, if I am innocent does not matter to you,” Lukas claims.  **_He turned when he was 19. He fed off of a family of five. He was born in West Virginia in 1956. His lover turned away from him when he turned and as a newborn he killed her. Her name was Kelly. He has killed seven blood singers. He hates the Volturi with a burning passion. He loves Kelly and wants to die. That’s why he killed the family. He may hate the Volturi, but he knows that they will kill him if he slaughters a family the way that he did. He ripped them open like an animal. He enjoyed it. He hates that he enjoyed it. His killing reminds him of why Kelly had rejected him after he turned. He feels like he’s a monster. In his eyes, all vampires are monsters._ **

“You want to be back with Kelly, don’t you? That is why you killed those families, isn’t it? You want to die,” I ask. How I knew what I knew about him was a mystery to me. Parts of his life, those deep and dark parts of his life, had become open to me. I knew his intentions, just with a glance.

Aro looks at me, curious as to how I had somehow known things about the criminal. “Il mio amore, how did you do that?” my mate asks me, his voice low.

“What the hell kind of gift does she have? You- you can’t just know that! I’ve never told anyone that!” Lukas cries out hysterically, venom tears forming in his eyes, never able to fall down his face.

**_When he was younger, he used to steal things from his brother David. When David found out, he almost beat him to death. To this day, he never steals anything, afraid that David will come back and kill him._ **

I didn’t know what was happening. It felt like his whole life story was being whispered into my ears. It felt like some sort of tragic yet poetic audiobook.

“He’s guilty. He killed them. He killed an entire family and made the police notice it. Just give him what he wants, Aro,” I almost ordered my mate. Caius and Marcus looked at me, worry in their eyes as I took a deep breath.

“Cara mia, is something wrong?” Caius asked, getting out of his throne to come over to Aro’s. He placed his hand in mine as I started to shake. The voice wouldn’t stop telling me things about Lukas, things that I didn’t want or need to know for the trial. It sounded like me, but almost had a demonic sense to it, like it was me being possessed.

Marcus came up and ripped off Lukas’ head. As I felt his body being burned in the fire, the voice started to get quieter and quieter. It was when his last body part was burned that the noise ceased. I was finally at ease. I finally stopped learning things about the now destroyed vampire. His wrongdoings would no longer haunt me. I still would remember everything that I learned, that was the tragic effect of a vampire’s memory. It was perfect. Sometimes it would be a blessing. Now was not one of those times.

“Tesoro,” Marcus came up to me. All of the guards in the room looked to me, worried expressions on all of them. “What happened?” Marcus asked lovingly, kissing my head softly.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It was this  _ voice.  _ It just  _ told  _ me everything that ever happened to Lukas. When I looked at him, it just started to speak.  _ She  _ sounded like  _ me  _ being possessed by some sort of  _ demon _ . It was scary.”

The three of them look at each other and then to me. “A gift. Cara mia, do not be afraid, you are just gifted,” Caius tries to soothe my anxiety.

“A gift not unlike your own, Aro,” Marcus comments to Aro, who just nods. “Finding your gift can be scary, tesoro. Finding out my own was quite frightening. You will learn to be able to control it with time. Everything is going to be okay.”

I just looked down at the floor. Aro held my face and turned it to face him. “Il mio amore, I believe that you have a kind of psychic gift like me. Instead of seeing the memories, you hear them as a sort of voice. I understand that finding out this gift has been scary, but do not be afraid of the voice inside of your head. Your gift is just trying to help you. The voice is likely just your inner vampire self. I promise, nothing will harm you, il mio amore,” Aro soothes, kissing my cheek.

“I feel bad for Caius,” two other mates laugh. “He was left out of the gifted club.”

“Poor Caius,” Marcus teases his soul brother. “You’re always left out, aren’t you?”

**_He was left out of the snowball fight of 1784 and holds a grudge against Aro and Marcus for it._ **

“Well, that was completely useless information that I did not need to know,” I comment. My mates turned to me and gave me a look that just said _ please, do tell me now. _ “Snowball fight of 1784.”

“Oh good lord,” Marcus sighs before laughing at the memory.

“That was not funny! You left me out! You know how much I love snowball fights! You left me out of the biggest snowball fight of the year! My own brothers! I will never forget the betrayal. Annalise, it was cruel and unusual punishment,” Caius complains to me. I don’t even think he realized that we were still in the throne room and that the guards were all hearing this conversation. Demetri couldn’t hold in his laughter as Caius complained to me, his devoted mate. Alec and Jane let out small giggles as well as they remembered the big fight.  **_Jane and Alec took down Aro. They always seem to double team him. Aro knows that they will always be the ones to get to him, even when he hides so well. Aro will shriek when he gets found as well. The twins find it hilarious._ **

“You always get too competitive, Caius. We wanted one fight without you. Is that so wrong?” Aro asks his brother who then looks absolutely offended.

“At least Caius doesn’t run from the twins and let out a squeal when they find him,” I comment. Marcus and Caius look to Aro, who just takes in a deep breath, about to defend himself. “Don’t try, Aro baby, it’s okay to be scared when they catch you and pummel you with snowballs.”

“This gift is going to be just as invasive as mine is, if not more, isn’t it?” Aro asks the room. Everyone lets out a chorus of  _ yes,  _ even the guards who were there for the already finished trial, wanting to stay for the jokes and for getting to see the kings interact with their mate, which they most likely found cute.

Even they were bound to be kind and generous around their mate, no matter how they seemed to the outside world. Everyone seems to be much different towards their mate or in my case, mates. The only set of mates that I knew other than myself and the kings were Chelsea and Afton, who acted like teenagers in love around each other, much to the rest of the guard’s dismay. They would be making out everywhere they could. The kings would sometimes scold them, but they had stopped recently. I think I knew that if they kept on harassing them, they would point out that they were always glued to me as well, even if we weren’t making out.

**_Aro has been in love with you since the second he laid his eyes on you. He thinks that it’s ridiculous that he could be so madly in love with someone so quickly, but he wouldn’t deny his feelings._ ** I looked at Aro, of whom was still on his throne. I was still on his lap, calmed down from the whispers that told me things. When they told me that Aro was in love with me, I knew that they didn’t have to be bad. The voices could be a good thing, something useful. While I didn’t exactly know how the knowledge comes, I knew that it was powerful and always correct.

“Il mio amore-” Aro was about to start, but I cut him off, placing my lips against his. Our kiss was brief, Marcus and Caius flooding the bond with jealousy. I think that even Aro could feel the jealousy coming off of his brothers.

“You two, let me kiss this mate. It’s fun to catch him off guard,” Aro whines and Marcus and Caius let out a low rumble of  _ sorry, cara mia _ and  _ sorry, tesoro. _ “Things are never going to get boring around here, are they?”

“Never,” my mates chorus. 


	15. Rolling Around

Well, my mates had lied to me for the first time. I was officially bored.

There was absolutely nothing to do around the castle. It was the weekend and there had been no new trials for me to try and test out my new gift. Most of the guards had been sent out on missions to build relations throughout the world, including my most trusted ally and friend Demetri. It was a crying shame that my mates hadn't allowed anyone here to stay back and keep me entertained by playing video games with me. I would pester my mates about it later.

Hell, even Renata, Aro's friend and personal bodyguard, was gone out to protect the lower guard while they were out. The castle was truly huge and unbearably quiet. With my vampire senses I could tell just how quiet it was inside the castle. I could barely even hear the people inside, as they were on the other side of the castle.

 ** _Your chambers were built on May 2nd, 2006._** Damn, my chambers had been built already? Did I even have to use them? Living in the same room as my mates was getting a bit cramped, but being with them was amazing. _Must be the stupid newborn vampire bond and emotions. I feel like a mess. Why can't I just skip this damn stage of my life and just be a normal vampire? Damnit, I either feel like eating or having sex. Why do I want sex so bad? I've only kissed ⅔ of my mates! I shouldn't be lusting after them like some teenage fangirl! Wait, I am a teenager and I could very well be classified as a fangirl with how the bond affects me, so am I just a teenage fangirl? The questions I have to ask myself, I swear to fucking god._

_Sex would be nice though._

I yelled at my head for being so damn dirty minded. At some point, Aro would be seeing these memories and thoughts. _Shit, he'll hear this. Aro, I hope you're happy! Even if Marcus and Caius can't hear this, I hope you're happy as well! You all make me horny as hell! Why? Why do you do this to me? Your poor mate is dying. Fuck, I'm having a conversation with myself. Aro, sorry you have to hear this later, I'm just a mess right now._

The door slid open only to reveal just the person I was talking to inside my head, Aro Volturi. I smirked at him and giggled as he walked closer to me.

"What is so funny, il mio amore?" Aro questions, kissing my cheek happily. I shake my head and giggle some more. "What is going on inside that pretty little head of yours, cara mia?"

"Why don't you just check, Aro darling?" I tease. Aro laughs before his face turns serious once again. He looks a bit shocked. "Aro. . .Why do you do this to me?" I draw out the _me_ part and Aro laughs.

"Annalise, are you perhaps giving me permission to use my gift on you?" He asks, expecting me to just say _no_ and move on.

"I mean, I did see quite a bit of what goes on in your thoughts, Aro. It is only fair," I point out. Aro is about to protest my reasoning but I cut him off with a, "Yes, Aro, I am giving you permission. Shut up and hear what I told you before you came in. That is why I was giggling."

Aro comes closer and kisses me. Physical contact was all that he needed, so kissing me was a sly move on his part. **_If Aro were human, he would be blushing at your thoughts._** _Ok, so why did I need that information again?_

"What information, il mio amore? I can not hear your gift while in your head," Aro asks, curling up on my lap.

"Believe me, it was. . . I don't need to hear about everything. I can read you like some cringy teenage vampire romance novel. Seriously, imagine if we were in one of those. I bet we would be villains, main characters usually hate laws," I theorize, Aro laughs as if he knows something that I don't. "You better not be saying-"

"We are not in a teenage romance novel, Annalise. Though, if we were, it would be awful for them to claim we are the villains. What did we do? Enforce the laws?" Aro asks playfully.

"I bet that the main characters broke some serious law or something. Maybe they didn't and they are trying to prove their innocence!" I theorize carefully. Aro laughs and kisses my head. I pin him to the bed and then fall down on his chest, snuggling into him. "You know what, a romance novel isn't the worst thing to be in, Aro."

"How would you know, Annalise?" Aro questions.

"I don't, Aro, I'm just saying!"

_____________________________________________________________

The next few days were filled with small annoyances. For one, Afton had come back. As much as he was funny, he was so damn annoying. He would constantly pester me about the kings. He would often ask me for a slip n' slide in the gardens for the guards. The guards seemed to like the idea, but just stayed quiet and pretended that they thought the man was the most annoying thing that had ever been turned into a vampire. Honestly, I couldn't blame them.

Unfortunately, my gift has been growing over the past few days. Now not only would I get knowledge on people, their emotions, and their pasts, I would also get the same information on objects that I would find myself staring at due to my boredom. Thankfully, the fact that I had learned so many new things about people and objects around the castle could be put to use in my now perfect memory.

Fortunately for everyone, Afton and Chelsea had come back together, meaning that they would be holed up in their rooms doing the dirty for the next few days. They would have been too busy on their missions to do anything nasty. _Damnit, gift, why do you tell me things like this? I didn't want to know about my guard's sex life! Completely tmi!_

_I wonder what Aro and Caius are doing._ **_Aro and Caius are currently in the throne room discussing what they are going to get you for your birthday._ **

Funny thing, my gift. I could sometimes just ask for bits of information and it would tell me. Maybe it was because I was focusing on what I needed to know. As much as my gift could be a nuisance, it also gave me much more power than I needed. In a way, I had much more control over my gift than Aro. He just saw _everything_ no matter what he did. Yes, he could make sure he didn't pry when he touched people, but he couldn't just pick and choose what he saw and learned.

Marcus and I were currently in my new room. He had been hanging out with me a lot more lately. In a way, he had become much more clingy. I gripped his waist as I suddenly wanted to try and pick him up. I seemed to surprise him as he tried to squirm out of my grasp before sighing. He clearly had given up too fast.

I found that I was able to pick him up and even throw him over my shoulder like he was some sort of light thing like a feather. He had to be twice my size and my weight. The man was massive. I patted his head as I put him back on the bed.

"Why did you do that to me, tesoro?" Marcus whined to me.

"I don't know, I just wanted to see if it would work. I need to know my strength," I flung myself on him. "I don't think immortality cures ADHD."

"It is not some disease, tesoro, you cannot just _cure_ ADHD. You clearly just do not think in the way most people do. Hyperactivity can actually be good in some cases. You seem to have the impulsivity, but you are not as unfocused as you used to be," Marcus tries to explain to me. I just groan and roll myself around on his chest, flipping my brown hair everywhere. Marcus laughs and stops me from rolling off the bed and causing me to form cracks on my face and legs.

"Nooo," I whined.

"Yessss," He whined back. We both started to laugh at each other's antics as Jane bursted into the room, Alec trying his hardest to stop his twin, failing miserably. I don't think that Jane even knew how to knock.

"Jane, are you unable to knock on my mate's door before you come running inside or has something so important happened that you must fail to use common manners taught to five year olds?" Marcus deadpans. Alec looks impressed by my mate's attitude. The girl usually got away with using bad manners and ordering people around.

"Sorry, master Marcus," Jane apologizes, ducking her head. "Aro and Caius wanted us to come and get you two. They say that it's urgent and to come quickly."

_Well, what have my mates planned this time?_

_________________________________________________________

"Aro, we cannot just allow them to get away with this!" Marcus exclaims. He had been pushed to the breaking point with those two and their childish antics. Not everything was going to be about them.

"Sulpicia and Athenodora couldn't have done something this _stupid,_ Marcus, they know the laws," Caius tries to defend. I groan and roll myself all around on Marcus. I was getting so sick and tired of everything having to do with the two of them. _Couldn't they just leave me alone? Would that be so hard? Like, are you that obsessed with my mates as to do something of this measure just to see them._

"A witness has provided evidence to say otherwise, Caius," Marcus defends his previous statement.

"Can't we just commit _murder_? I guess it's not murder since it's _legal_ , but can't we just _kill them_? Please? I'll do whatever you want for a week," I plead, just wanting those two dead. _Who knew ex wives would be such a pain in the ass? I just want them erased from existence._

"Cara mia, we cannot just go out there and kill them?" I groan and Marcus attempts to stop my rolling around. "We must get the whole truth."

" _Aro_ , please? Baby please? I'll roll on you if you want. Just _kill the whores_ ," I insult. Marcus laughs and then glares at his soul brother.

"It is our mately _duty_ to give our mate whatever she wants," Marcus whines.

"To an extent!!" Aro retorts. I just roll around, attempting to get comfortable on Marcus. "Il mio amore, would you stop rolling around on Marcus?"

"No," I pout. "Not until Sulpicia and Athenodora are gone. Zip, nothing but ash."

"I swear I will do it myself with her still on top of me if you two don't get your heads out of your asses," Marcus sneers, attempting to calm my movements. Nothing was comfortable. I was _hungry_ and _annoyed._

"Why are you rolling, cara mia?" Caius asked the a million dollar question. "Why do you make Marcus suffer so greatly?"

"Shut up, Caius," Marcus growls at Caius, who took a deep breath.

"I'm _hungry_ ," I whine. "My body feels so _hungry_. I need _blood._ "

"Go fetch her something, Aro, lest she do this for the next _week_ ," Marcus orders his brother. Aro sighs and goes outside the throne room, leaving Marcus and Caius to watch over me. I wasn't trying to be difficult, I was just so damn _hungry._ Hungry Annalise equals rolling and pissy Annalise. "Tesoro, please stop rolling."

I whined and tried to stop, failing. My body's natural reaction to hunger was to roll and roll until I found food. Since I was immortal, I could not go and snatch something from the kitchens like I used to. No, I wanted to kill someone and drink all of their blood now that I was immortal.

"This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"


	16. Ex Wives

It had taken Aro over an hour to come back with a bag of blood for me. During that time, I had been rolling all over my mates, uncomfortable with the hungry and burning in my throat. Marcus looked like he wanted to die once more and Caius was just about ready to decapitate Aro for taking so long to get me something so simple as a bag of blood. Aro, reading the energy of the room, didn't try and defend himself against the glares of his soul brothers and just sighed as he saw me rolling and trying to clutch at Marcus' chest.

"Il mio amore, I have the blood," my eyes lit up as I dashed off of Marcus, much to his relief, and ripped open the blood bag to drink it. I had gulped down the red substance in less than two big gulps. I had been so _hungry_ and I needed the blood in my system. Being that hungry was not normal for me. I hadn't been so hungry as to need to roll myself out of some discomfort in more than a year. I glared at Aro when I realized that he had allowed me to stay hungry for an hour while he doddled, allowing my mates to suffer along with me as they read my hunger and discomfort through the rolling and through the incomplete mate bond.

"Aro, if you ever take that long again, I will kill you," Caius threatened his brother. Aro gave a scared smile and tried to hold me. I moved away, throwing the blood bag down and sitting on Caius' lap, much to Aro's dismay. I kissed Caius and stilled myself on him, laying nicely on his chest. I could hear the low purr that came deep within my chest. My mate let out a confused whine before kissing my head, eventually settling at my purring.

"What is that sound?" Aro asks, looking around to see if it was coming from somewhere other than his very comfortable mate. "It sounds like purring."

"It's Annalise you great buffoon," Caius deadpans. Marcus stares at me longingly before looking to a very smug Caius, turning his head. "She's the one who's purring."

"Annalise, how and why are you doing such a thing?" Aro asks, still confused about the entire thing. For a man who has been said to have seen it all, he did sure seem clueless about the topic of purring.

"Let her purr on me, Aro. Maybe if you weren't so late she would be purring on you right now," Caius snarks. Marcus laughs at his throne.

"Caius, I am simply curious!" Aro defends himself, looking offended as ever.

"She looks comfortable. It seems that since I have been the one to make her comfortable, she purrs on me," Caius looks down at me. I was listening but too happy and comfy to make a sound, simply allowing the loud purrs to come from deep in my voice box. "Cara mia, for the sake of Aro's ignorance, can you tell us how you are making such a sound?"

I purred loudly at him and looked around to see Aro looking intently at me. I stop purring to say, "I dunno. I just got comfy and happy."

"If that were the only factor, wouldn't you be purring as well, Caius?" Aro questions. It was a good point. The man seemed very happy and comfortable with the situation he was in, having his most precious mate cuddling up to him and had been purring at him.

"I do believe that this is something we have personally never heard before, but some of the other guards may have some knowledge. Chelsea and Afton are true mates. They have explained our mate giggling at us, but I do not believe that they have ever said anything about a true mate purring," Marcus muses. Aro and Caius look to each other before Aro sighs and leaves the throne room, leaving to go and grab the true mates in question.

My heart, though dead and unbeating, felt almost fuzzy as I snuggled into Caius, taking a deep breath of his scent. My most protective mate smelled of mint and winter, smells that I loved. I let myself curl into him deeper as I felt myself drifting into my own sort of dream. While I was awake, I was not really present and conscious.

"Cara mia," Caius pesters, rubbing my face gently. I groan, starting to get annoyed that he wouldn't just let me curl up and love him. Caius stops his pesters immediately, looking to Marcus. "Is she doing this on purpose? Bellisima, you need to stop being so cute all of the time. You're killing me with that face."

"Leave our mate be, Caius. Allow Annalise to be cute on you. If you won't appreciate her beauty, I might just scoop her up," Marcus teases his soul brother, who was unimpressed by the prospect of me leaving his lap.

From the entrance of the room came in Aro, Chelsea, and Afton. I feel my chest getting heavy as I allow myself to nuzzle myself into my mate, feeling warm in his comfort. Aro is about to tap me from behind but is stopped by a loud growl from Caius and a softer one from Marcus, who was intent on allowing me to be as comfortable as I so pleased, even if it meant a slight twinge of jealousy from seeing me with Caius.

"Aro, I don't get what's wrong here, Queen Annalise is _obviously_ just nesting with Caius right now. I don't see why you find anything about this odd! Although I don't think that nesting on a _throne_ is the best idea. I mean, you'll get attached to the thing like it's your damn _child_. Aro, if anything is wrong here it's the fact that you can't even tell that your mate is just _nesting_. Have you not heard of this from _someone's_ memories?" Afton looks worried that his king didn't know the prospects of nesting.

**_Afton knows that a nest is when the submissive of the mates creates a place of comfort, a place where only their mate can come and find them. It usually contains special items and gifts from the mate and can be used as a calm environment for a stressed mate._ **

****_Well, guess that my gift can help me learn about some odd shit. I mean, nesting sounds nice. Yeah, I want a nest. This whole thing sounds peaceful and happy, exactly what I need in this stupid fucking newborn stage of immortality._

A sudden wave of understanding washes over Aro's face. Caius looks down at me and smiles, running his hand through my hair. Aro looks annoyed that he couldn't figure out something so simple.

"Over 3 millennias of life and we are still thicker than the stone in this castle," Marcus gets up off of his throne and pats Aro on the back. Marcus looks at the two of us and suggests, "We should go to one of our rooms if you're going to scent everything around you right now. I wouldn't want to confuse Demetri or any of the guards. I doubt that they would understand the lingering _scent_ that you give off."

Aro looks offended at the insult to his intelligence. I grumble and give Marcus a nod in understanding. "To Caius' room!" I cheer.

__________________________________________________

During my time in Caius' room that night, I had managed to scent almost everything. Even his closet lingered with my scent. During that night, we all cuddled. It was nice to have some mate bonding time. _Aro,_ I think, knowing that Aro could hear me.

"Yes, il mio amore?" Aro nuzzles against my head before giving me a strong kiss. I bring my hands to his hair before growling as someone decides to open the door. Demetri had decided that he would interrupt my mate bonding time. As much as I loved the man like a friend, he had annoyed me with his presence at that moment.

Demetri takes one step in the room before Aro gives him an evil stare. "Why are you here, Demetri?"

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Master Aro, but there is a problem in the throne room. Something about the Yemen coven," Demetri tries to explain himself to my mate, who looked beyond frustrated that he and I had been interrupted.

"Demetri, what happened with the Yemen coven?" Marcus asks, coming out of his trance. While vampires could not sleep, I had learned that those who had found their true mates could go into a sort of trance when they were near each other and comfortable. "I thought that this was the coven Sulpicia and Athenodora fled to, Demetri. We are not very good friends with them and I do not want to play host to those whores."

"Damn, tell us how you really feel, Marcus," I encourage. Marcus hisses and wraps his around my waist, now glaring along with Aro, giving a deadly look to my personal guard.

"Just come to the throne room, please, I don't want to worry the guards that are around here. You know how some of them can get," Demetri tries to get us to the throne room. "It is important."

"Fine," I whine out, throwing Aro and Marcus off of me and rush to the throne room. My mates followed, groaning as they opened the doors to find the two _whores_ as Marcus so perfectly put it.

"Why? Why us? Aro, Caius, why did you pick the worst wives?" Marcus whines to his brothers, causing the women to hiss. "At least Didyme was liked by the guard and the damn world," Marcus whispered. Aro gives him a pained look. They had been brothers in multiple senses of the word. _Had_ been. A long time ago.

"Aro, darling, do control your brother," Sulpicia croons. My mates and I let out a catlike hiss at her, which causes her to frown. "Have you not come to your senses yet, Aro? This girl will never be a queen. I am and will always be the queen of the Volturi," Sulpicia tries to claim a title that never had and never will belong to her. She was never the _queen_. She was his _wife_ , but never a _queen_. No, that title went to me the second that they had found out I was their mate.

"What has the bitch of whoreville done now?" I ask Demetri. I realized something, that I wouldn't need anyone to tell me things anymore. Not anyone actually _here_ anyways.

**_Sulpicia and Athenodora are working with the Romanians. These are the same Romanians that killed Didyme over 2000 years ago. They killed her in front of your mate, her husband at the time. They did it because they wanted revenge. Aro had killed their wives, so Stefan wanted to kill his sister to get at him. He knew that Aro loved her. He had hate in his heart and enjoyed killing the sweet girl who had never hated anyone or anything in her entire life. Sulpicia and Athenodora want you dead._ **

****I didn't realize that I had been staring at them for so long, gathering information that could be used against them. "Annalise, il mio amore, what do you know?" Aro asks, kissing my cheek. Sulpicia hisses at the display of affection.

"They're working with Stefan, the same Stefan that killed Didyme," I inform, "They want me dead. They think that they have a chance with you if I am gone."

My mates hiss deeply at the two women, who were flabbergasted at my knowledge. **_They have immortal children in their army_**.

It was then that time almost stopped. They had _immortal children_. "Aro, they have _immortal children_ in some army of theirs," Aro looks to his ex wife and growls at her. Sulpicia looks defeated. "You know the law, Sulpicia."

"How did you do that? How can you read so much information? How do you know everything?" Sulpicia questions. As if, she didn't have any right to question the queen. Even if she did, I was under no obligation to answer her. Even if that was so, I did answer her dying questions.

"It's the gift of knowledge, darling," I sneer before ripping off her head, kicking it into the pyre.


	17. Letters to Friends

The rush of power that I felt was almost indescribable, the euphoria hitting me as I watched the bitch burn in the fireplace. Athenodora screamed as the rest of her soul sister was burned, ending her immortal life. The pair had been caught, and my wrath would be their punishment. The blonde woman stood there in fear, the rest of her new coven making their way in the throne room, hissing as they heard Sulpicia burn.

Letting out a small giggle, I give Athenodora a demented smile. _Nobody messes with my coven, little whore._

"How dare you kill one of our own without cause?" the supposed leader questions me. I laugh out loud and sigh, turning my head to him and pouting like a young child would. "You say that you are not above the law, but you kill without evidence! You had no proof!"

"Oh, but we did," I leave Athenodora's side to stare directly at the darker skinned man, who was stepping towards me in an aggressive stance. Aro came to my side, giving the leader of the Yemen Coven a growl at his apparent aggression towards his mate and queen. His red eyes stared into mine, him trying to intimidate me with his size. Oh, he had size, but I had the strength of a newborn vampire and previous self defense training.

"No, you didn't! I heard you, _Queen Annalise of the Volturi_ , Sulpicia said that you never touched her, that Aro had not touched her skin! That is how Aro's power works! You are not gifted!" The man makes baseless claims that I was in fact like Caius, not having a gift of my own. Aro let out a deep laugh full of malice and hatred. **_Arif is the man in front of you. He believes you to be a danger and will try and fight back if you order his demise. His name means knowledgeable. Arif was turned in 1765 by a woman named Afina. He killed her to gain control of the Yemen Coven. He was friends with Lukas._**

The man certainly did have deep rooted hatred for my coven. "Arif, I don't think that you understand the gift that I hold. My gift developed when I was questioning Lukas. You see, unlike you and your namesake, I have the gift of knowledge. It finds me, whispering to me in my head," I explain to the man, who did not seem to believe me.

"You liar! You are a ruthless queen who kills without cause!" The man exclaims to fill his own agenda and beliefs. Many of the guards, including Demetri and Felix, had come to the throne room and were now standing at the man's side, making sure that he would not attack their queen.

"Says the man who killed his sire to take control of her coven," I say. The rest of the Yemen Coven had come into the throne room by now, being dragged in by Santiago, Renata, Jane, and Alec. The people of whom he called family gasped. I looked at the people and gave them an apologetic smile. "I am so sorry that you did not know the truth, people of the Yemen Coven. Your leader has deceived you. I will give you a chance, as you have not done anything against the Volturi."

**_Akila, Aaron, Harb, and Jabir are all a part of the Yemen Coven. They did not know about the Romanians and their work with Arif. They are grieving._ **

"My queen, we must th- thank you for your mercy," a young man with the same raven hair as my mate thanked me. "We will be forever grateful. I assure you that we are the most loyal to the people that keep us safe and hidden."

**_Akila and Harb have gifts of their own. Harb has the ability to cause multiple enemies to go into a deep delusion of their worst fears and Akila has the ability to break both physical and mental shields. They are twins and their mates are Aaron and Jabir. They were turned together and are inseparable._ **

"Ah, Harb and Akila have powers of their own, it seems. I am happy that you have found your mates," I congratulate them on finding their true mates, knowing how much happiness it had brought me.

"Yes, we do have powers of our own," a woman with a nicely kept after afro hairstyle comes into my view. I smile at her and motion for her to come forward. She was one of the most beautiful female vampires I had ever met, even topping Rosalie in her natural beauty. While Rosalie often wore makeup, this woman wore none, showing off her natural beauty and almost glowing skin. "My kings, my twin has the ability to cause our enemies to witness their worst fears in front of them and I can break shields created by others, both the physical and the mental kind."

Aro and Jane both smile at the new knowledge. According to the two of them, they had both been bested by the shield that was Isabella Swan. Now, here in front of us, was someone that could break that shield down, allowing their gifts to be used against my former friend. I just hoped that it would never come to that. Deep inside I knew that she would hate me forever for choosing love over her.

What a hypocrite, she was. She always chose Edward over me, claiming that true love was the cause of her actions.

"Harb, Akila, I would like to offer you a choice," I begin. Aro gives me a dark smirk, knowing where I was going with this. "You can either go off with your mates and try to rebuild your coven, which would be perfectly fine in my eyes. Afir must be destroyed for his treason and disrespect towards me. He also killed your former coven leader. While it may be a crime, it is cruel and awful," I drone on, "Or you can join us, the Volturi. Your gifts are powerful, whether or not we have seen them is unimportant. I know that you would do well in this coven. We are a coven. You could even take places as members of the Elite Guard if you so wished, you are just as powerful."

"What of our true mates? They have no powers of their own," Akila's voice hitches in worry. I put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"They will be with you. I know how much a true mate means to a vampire. We have other jobs that can be filled for vampires with no gifts," I say. This knowledge seems to calm the Yemeni people in the room, apart from Afir, who is furious.

"You can not kill me for this! I was trying to protect my coven! We are family!" Afir screams, hysteria coating his poisonous words. A man in a dark green coat comes forward. **_Aaron._**

"You _murdered_ Afina! She was _kind._ She was _honest._ She never did _anything_ to hurt other vampires! She took you in when you were dying and you just _killed her_? You call us family, but you betrayed us! You said that she was killed by a rogue newborn! Afina was the kindest vampire I'd ever met. I was proud to call her my sire and _mother_. She was our _mother!_ " Aaron looks like he's about to cry as he talks about his sire and adoptive mother.

"I did it to protect us!" Afir claims.

"No! You're a power hungry monster who hates anyone who tells you what to do! Afina wanted us to follow the rules of the Volturi. You're the only one who hates the Volturi, Afir. You hate that Lukas had to be destroyed. He killed huge families! He clearly wanted to die, Afir, get over it!" Aaron says to his leader, then turning to face me. "If we have a chance to be here, Akila and I will take it. Jabir, brother, come with us."

"Harb and I have always followed you, have we not, brother?" Jabir smirks and holds Harb's hand. Caius and Marcus smile. They always liked having mated pairs in the Volturi, it made us much stronger than just having one half of a soul inside of our home.

Caius and Marcus come off of their thrones, walking down to where everyone was talking with smiles plastered on their pale faces. Caius almost shoves Aro out of the way as he shakes hands with some of the new members of his coven. Aro whispers a growl under his breath. Marcus is just laughing softly at the exchange.

Alec grinned at Athenodora, who had stayed silent during the exchange, and ripped her apart as Felix watched with glee in his red eyes, coming over to help throw out her remains to the fire. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the guards in the room cheering them on silently, their eyes shifting to the scene with smiles on their immortal faces. Things were going to be good in the Volturi Coven. It was a time for joy.

We had gained some new members for this little family of ours.

____________________________________________

The new members of our guard and relations center were doing quite well. The new set of twins had grown quite close with Jane and Alec, who were well known as the witch twins outside of the Volturi.

It had been over 2 months since I had last seen or heard from any of the Cullens, so I decided that I would write my favorite people some letters. In Italian for Carlisle, of course, because that was just what we did.

_Dear Rose,_

_I have missed you dearly. About a month ago, I decided that it would be the best for me to turn. Not only did it make relations with my mates and guard so much less complicated, I would also be stronger and able to defend myself. After I turned, I found out that I had a gift._

_I have the gift of just knowing. I look at someone and I have this voice in my head that tells me things about them. It sometimes works with objects. Sometimes I can ask myself things and the voice will tell me the relevant answer. It's really cool, but the voice kind of sounds like me, but if I was possessed by some sort of demonic creature. Scared the shit out of the first time. If I could cry, I would have cried._

_Immortality is much different than I would have imagined. Not only do I feel strong, I feel more like myself. My confidence and self esteem is much better than it used to be. The ADHD didn't go away. Aro thinks that the disorder has to do with how my brain works and that it isn't something to be ashamed of. I'm not ashamed, but I wish that I could focus better._

_I hope that everything in your life is going well. If anything happens, I got a new phone. My number is ##########_

_Yours truly,_

_Annalise Volturi (Even if we aren't married.Yet.)_

The next letter that had to go out was the one to Carlisle, my father figure and friend.

_Dear Carlisle,_

_Things have changed so much that I don't even know where to begin. I know that you have things to do, people to save and as such, I will not uselessly fill your time with my ramblings as I would normally do._

_A year ago I would never have guessed that I would be a part of a world like this. Now that I am, I decided that I would take the big step. I was changed a month ago, Marcus being my sire. It was just as painful as everyone described. Too bad I had to chicken out during the last bit, having Alec use his gift on me. Immortality is different. I admire your skill with control, but I am afraid that I will be eating humans from now on. Animals are going extinct and humans are overpopulated, just survival of the fittest at this point._

_During my time as an immortal I have developed a gift. A knack for finding things out. I look at someone and I get things told to me via a voice deep within my head. Marcus believes that this is the part of my vampire that holds my bonds, the one that is attached to my soul. I'll have to believe him for now, he is the only one that can see this bond._

_I hope that you and Esme are doing well in Forks. I do believe that I will have to come back at some point to grab my stuff. I promise that I am no threat to the people of Forks. My mates have been teaching me control and I am able to be around the scent of blood already. Caius accidentally spilled a blood bag all over himself yesterday. It was quite funny to watch._

_Forever a friend,_

_Annalise Volturi_

The last letter would have to go out to Jasper, who I had not received a letter from yet. He deserved to know about how life was. After all, he and I were very close before the Volturi happened.

_Dear Jaz,_

_I miss you. I know that this should be obvious, but it is the truth. I miss having you around at school. Hell, I kind of miss school. You probably don't, you've must have gone to school multiple times already._

_I turned. Yipee! I'm now one of you. You shouldn't have to resist my blood anymore because, well, I have none. Marcus sired me about a month ago. I'm still getting used to immortality and stuff. I'm always super hungry. When I get hungry, you know that I roll. My mates hate it. They call it my form of torturing them into feeding me. I don't get why, I'll just be on their lap and rolling around. It can't be that bad! They're just dramatic._

_Anyways, I have a gift. Honestly, it's kind of like Aro's. I can like get knowledge from some all knowing voice in my head. Do you think that it's me? It could be some goddess or something. All I have to do is hear or see someone for it to work. It sounds borderline demonic. You can guess my reaction when I hear a demonic voice in my head while in my first trial, telling me all of the shit that this guy named Lukas did. Terrifying. Never want it to burst my bubble like that again._

_How are you and Alice doing? I know that she probably hates me still for leaving Forks and stuff, but I still need to ask since she's your wife and you love her._

_You better reply to me Major,_

_Annalise Volturi :)_

I laugh as Aro wraps his arms around me. He looks to the letters I have written and smiles at them. "Il mio amore, you have beautiful handwriting," my mate compliments. I laugh and quickly seal all of my letters. Supernatural speed does have its perks.

"I'll send them with my beautiful handwriting. I haven't talked to the Cullens in a long time. I miss them," I admit. Aro kisses my forehead and allows me to get up to take the letters to the mailbox. _I guess that things are finally settling down now._


	18. A Day Off

So, that was a big fat lie. Things were in fact not going to settle down. In fact, things had never been more chaotic in the Volturi household. Not only was I waiting for letters back from the Cullens, but we had almost seven trials per day. This has been going on for the last _two weeks._ For some reason, these criminals had been harder to track than usual. Demetri was having a hard time finding their minds amidst the stress and their blocking of his senses with animal and human blood.

These guys must have known they were in deep shit. I mean, they would be right because Demetri would bring them in one at a time and have their trials separately due to this game they were playing. The Romanians were breaking all of the rules and would have to deal with the might of the Volturi.

Akila and Harb were getting used to being on the Elite guard already. I could sense the fear that came off of some of the members of the guard when Harb would use his gift during trials, causing immense pain and fear to come over the criminals of whom's mind he controlled. Akila was able to break the minor shields that would come in. They would never stand a chance against her. She was powerful, and she looked damn good while bursting their bubble.

Most of the guard had begun to make preparations for the abush of a Romanian site that was rumored to have immortal children inside. It was a shame that the children were forced to turn and live such a sad life, but it was even worse that they would have to die. They were just children and were being exploited by those who wished to gain power and status. In a way, they were the same as the people who used to take me in while in the foster care system. They did not care about me, just the money and the power that came with saying they took in a foster child with issues.

The Romanians didn't want the rules not only because they wished for more _freedom,_ they also were clearly sick in the head if they did not agree with the rule about immortal children. _Poor kids never got a chance to grow up, to make the choice. None of them are rumored to have gifts, so why? What was the reason? What was the reason?_

While I questioned the sanity and motives of the Romanians, Aro was finishing up with the last trial of the day. It was just hard to watch and watch as so many vampires were put down together or one at a time. The guards that were ripping them apart were exhausted. Not physically, but mentally. They needed a break of sorts.

By now it was June and I had been a vampire for a few months. The guards and I have gotten close. Many of the guards have decided that they are going to call me _mother_ instead of _queen,_ which is just so much better for me. I hated feeling like I had so much power inside of my own _family._ The coven was not just a coven, it was a family of vampires that loved and respected each other.

The rest of the world just can't seem to understand how much we love each other.

"Aro, darling, we need to do something for the guards. We've worked them too much these past two weeks," It was more of a suggestion and less of an order on my part. Aro sighs and nods his head.

"Demetri, please call the rest of the guards to the throne room. Make sure that they know that there are no more trials and that they are not in trouble," Aro tells my personal guard, who smiles and leaves the room without another word.

Jane and Alec were in the corner chatting with Akila and Harb, their new best friends. I was happy that they were able to find their own small group of people. Before, they had only been hanging out with each other and did not have much experience talking to the other guards in a friendly manner, often sounding annoyed or prissy. Jane more than Alec, who was often just quiet and awkward when trying to talk to his fellow guard members.

I watch as Caius stares out of the open window right into the sun, his skin lighting up like a disco ball. While his skin was beautiful in its own right, I did not see how people could be so scared of a species that sparkled like he was some sort of diamond child. _He is still hot though. Why does he have to be so hot? He makes these trials so difficult with his beauty. Caius, look ugly for one second so I can look away! Damn, it isn't possible, is it? Are you just going to sit there looking handsome? I know you can't hear me, but I know you would say yes because you're a cocky bastard._

After a few minutes, the guards come inside of the room with vacant expressions on their faces. It was not often that the entirety of the guard would be summoned into the room, even during feedings. Actually, this never really would happen. The guards and the other Volturi members feed together.

"Mother, why have you called us?" Felix asks, his lower voice slightly higher than usual when addressing me.

"I know that everyone has been super stressed during the past few days and that we have had _zero_ free time, so I have taken it into my power to implement some _fun._ I know that everyone has seen the huge space in the _gardens,_ " Aro and Caius look at me, knowing what I was about to say. "And I think that since it is _summer,_ a slip-in-slide is a perfect reward for your outstanding performance. My mates will be allowing this and I will be participating."

My word was seen as final as the guards cheered. Afton pumped his hands in the year and shouted, "40 years! I have been waiting for 40 years!"

Aro and Caius look dejectected that I would make such a decision alone, but make no further protest as Marcus tells the guards that they should get ready for some fun in a few hours. Marcus, who was sitting on his throne with me in his lap, was grinning as he kissed my hairline. I laughed and pulled him into a heated kiss. Afton wolf whistled as he left the room, being dragged by Chelsea, who didn't want to have him make a fool of himself.

________________________________________

The bikini that had been laid out for me by Heidi and Renata was absolutely stunning. It was my favorite color, purple, and also made me look like a mermaid. Not only that, but it also looked quite good with my red eyes. I had been having a hard time finding good things that would also match my red eyes.

"Heidi, what is it that you do for the Volturi? Also, is it true that you were brought into the world of vampires by those animal eaters, the Cullens? Did you ever consider eating animals as food?" Akila asks Renata and I, who was currently changing into her golden swimsuit.

"I'm who they call when they get hungry. We eat humans, so what. Humans eat animals. Same thing, different species. It is what it is. Vampires are at the very top of the food chain. Animals are going extinct and humans are overpopulated. In a way, we're better than the animal eaters. They are preying on animals when it not only destroys the planet, but makes them weak," Renata tells the beautiful vampire.

"No, I never considered eating animals. I love animals, even if I used to eat meat. I was brought into the world when Edward slipped up in front of me. That's the telepathic one. He hates the Volturi and now he hates me. The rest of them are respectful enough, except for his human blood singer girlfriend, Isabella Swan. She's a shield and acts like she's better than the Volturi because she says she would never even think of eating a human. It's ridiculous. I love Carlisle like a father, but I would never take on that diet. He respects that and knows that as long as I am happy that he should be happy for me as well," I answer.

"Hah! Well I'll just break her shield then. I bet that since she's a human she thinks that having that gift makes her all that," I groan and nod my head. _Good lord, if only you knew Akila, if only you knew. Hey, she should have to see me at some point in the future. I have to go back to Forks at some point in the near future to see Jasper and Carlisle. Rose as well._

 ** _There is a newborn army coming after the Cullen Coven_** I shiver at the sudden bit of information before I realize what I just got told. **_The Cullen Coven is being attacked by a vampire named Victoria. The Cullens killed her true mate, James._** _Well shit, I already knew Victoria was a problem, but a newborn army? Damn, I can't deal with this right now. Eddie boy isn't going to accept help from us human eaters anyways. If they don't ask for help, I'm not giving it. As long as they don't cause too much of a ruckus, we will be fine. The law is the law. If she has a vendetta against the Cullens, they are going to have to either ask me to help them or they are going to fight it off themselves._

"Is something wrong, Mother?" Jane asks from the other side of the room, having gotten her pure black one piece on already.

"Yes, Jane, everything is fine. Just a bit of information that we will need to check in on later," I reassure her. Jane nods and speeds out of the room. Heidi squeals as the door is opened and closed at the speed of fucking light. I smile at the three girls left in the room and speed out in my swimsuit and shades, running down the hallways to find my way to the gardens.

The slip-in-slide was mostly being used by many of the male guards, who were throwing each other down the slide with ease. Some were being forced, but it was all in good fun. Many of the ladies were taking this time to hang out in some of the large ponds that the gardens held. We didn't have many pools per se, but the pools of water in the gardens were fresh and safe to be in. I mean, it wasn't like we could catch any diseases as immortals anyways.

I had no time to process what was happening as Caius came up behind me and threw me over his shoulder. I screamed and accidentally kicked Caius in the back, causing cracks to form and him to groan in pain.

"Cara mia, are you trying to kill me?" I hiss at the thought and playfully hit his head with an open palm, causing some giggles to erupt from the guards in and around the pool. Some of the mates of the guards had decided that they would join in as well, taking some time to spend with their overworked mates.

"You don't throw your newborn mate over your shoulder and expect to be praised, darling," I say to him. Caius laughs and throws me across the room, allowing me to be caught by Marcus, who didn't know that he would have to catch me. "Marcus, Caius is throwing me over his shoulder and tossing me around like a toy. I am not a toy!"

Marcus gave Caius a glare as he patted my head. I let out fits of giggles as I wrap my arms around his waist. "Caius, do not harass our mate while everyone watches. If you wish to _play_ around with her, save it for _later._ "

Some of the guards around us choke on their own venom as they hear Marcus' comment. Caius growls deeply and starts to walk towards the two of us at a human pace. Marcus shakes his head and runs off with me in his arms still. Caius shouts and starts to run after the two of us. I laugh as Caius chases us all the way to the other side of the gardens where Aro is talking to Aaron and Harb. I could hear Aro let out a _what the hell_ and started to run after us as well.

The perfect game of tag was then started.

Jane and Alec started to chase after each other while two teams had now been formed. One was with Caius and Aro and one was with Marcus and I. We would run and some people would chase us. Harb and Jabir chased after their new covenmates while Aaron and Akila joined Marcus and I in running away.

It was chaos in the gardens, but it was a good kind of chaos.

"Marcus! Let go of my mate!" Caius shouts at his brother, who just laughs and continues to run away from his brothers, who had yet to grow tired from all of the running. Some of the guards tried to corner the two of us, but Marcus managed to actually _jump_ over them. "Marcus you damned fool!"

"Caius, you blithering idiot!" Marcus shouts back at him. Caius growls and some of the guards laugh at the exchange.

It was only when Jane and Alec decided to team up that we were going to have a problem. Those two had some amazing battle strategy. Other covens would claim that Caius was the battle person, but honestly I think that the twins could beat any battle against Caius, even without the use of their gifts.

Alec rushed in front of Marcus and managed to pull me out of his arms and down into a pond. "I caught mother!" Alec cheered as he held me in his arms. All of the guards cheered and Caius picked me up in his arms, stealing me away from my adoptive son. "Caius, let me have this one victory."

"No, son," Caius retorts, taking me back to Aro. "Cara mia, did you have to start a war like the one we just played a part in?"

"I did not start a war! Marcus started this with his running with me! Anyways, even if I _had_ started this, it was fun, was it not?" Caius groaned and nodded, watching as the guards began to stop chasing each other and their mates. "The guards needed this."

"I know, I know."


	19. Venting from Allies

When the Volturi were away, the Romanians would commit crimes. It pained me to know that we would have to destroy an entire coven, but the threat of an eventual takeover was just too high. They had no respect for our laws or human life. Even if I didn't particularly like humans, I didn't think of them like they were just livestock to be slaughtered relentlessly. They had homes, families, and people they cared about just like vampires. Humanity deserved a chance to think they are at the top of the food chain, even if they really weren't and could be easily killed by any supernatural creature in the world.

The world around me was changing drastically. Vampires all around the world knew of me, of my power and my existence within the Volturi. Some rumors of my gift had gotten out, but most of them were highly wrong and straight up weird. In a way, I would be able to be the one at the sail, the master of the sea of the vampire world. I had to be able to work under pressure and be able to keep my coven's ship afloat.

My only fear was that I would be the one to let the ship sink.

Covens were a group effort, everyone having a different job within one. Nobody was replaceable, every person having their own uses and gifts, even if they weren't related to them becoming vampires in the first place. Relations within my coven were strong, Marcus telling me that all of the loyalty bonds were glowing bright yellow, all of them connected back to the four of us.

Our bonds were mixed, all of us having bright yellow for loyalty, but also magenta for platonic love and green for friendship. The Volturi had little to no blue, which was the sign of distaste or hatred. There was bound to be some blue, but Marcus assured me that it was outshadowed by all of the other colors.

While most of the vampire world feared us, they did not know just how much we loved and cared for one another. Before joining the Volturi, almost nobody really had a family. Before my coven, I had no real family at all. I was almost completely alone. Yes, I technically had the Cullens, my life was far from familial.

In the end, most of them did leave me behind for something I could not control.

______________________________________________________

During the next day or so after the afternoon filled with screaming mates and Volturi members goofing off, the guards spent more time in the training room than out. They would train all day and all night because they needed it and they also had the benefit of not needing to sleep like most creatures.

"No! Alec, you need to go to your left when Jane attacks!" Caius shouts at the boy, causing him to flinch and nod his head quickly. My blonde mate did not accept failures and the guard had been berated and beaten by him during their recent training.

"Caius, give the kid a break, he's been at this for an hour. Alec hasn't fed at all since the last feeding a _week_ ago, he clearly needs some food in his system before he trains," I defend the brown haired boy.

Just as my mate was about to fight back, Aro came in through the doors. "What are you all doing here? Feeding time is in less than two minutes!"

"Blondie over here was beating everyone up for their failures, darling. We'll come out now." Aro nods and allows me to take his arm, Caius trailing us as we walk down the halls, which had become much more crowded during the past few days. More and more vampires were coming to our side in our battle against the Romanians. Even if they were scared of our coven and feared breaking any of our rules, they hated the Romanians and their way of ruling so much that they would back us over them anyday.

Now that so many more covens were residing in the walls of Volterra, Heidi would need to get much more food for all of us. Some of the covens had to bring their newest members, the newborn vampires of their family. Poor Heidi had worked her ass off during this last catch, likely having to draw in over 100 humans to feed us all.

No calls had come from the Cullen family about the supposed threat. From what I could gather, a newborn army was no small deal. It was messy and could result in multiple deaths on both sides. I was volatile and I was able to beat some of the elite guards during my first few training sessions, so who knew what a bigger army of newborns could do to a coven. Even if the Volturi knew about the resistance against the Cullens, it was not our place to interfere unless we thought that the newborns were causing too much news to fall on their feedings. Carlisle had to know that. The man had lived in the coven for at least a decade, he should know the procedures that came with a newborn army.

Still, something inside of me still said that the Cullens would use this against me, that they would take my lack of a response as me throwing them out. In the end, I had a coven that was on the brink of war with another coven, we had to protect our own before we began to use our guard members as negotiators for people.

When the time came, the room filled with hundreds of humans and at least 100 vampires. Heidi really had outdone herself with this one.

I could hear the newborns in the room growling, ready to feed already. Their sires and covenmates held them back so Aro could address the people before calling us to our well deserved and waited meal for the week.

"It seems that you have come to the end of your tour," Aro turns to the people before looking at the poor vampires who had to hold back their friends, "Bon appétit!"

______________________________________________________

It was about time for the sun to set when I was given letters in my room by Demetri, who had previously gone to check on the mail for me. During the week, I had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of mail from the Cullens, who I had written some nice letters for.

The first letter was sealed with wax. _So fancy, Carlisle._

_To my Queen Annalise,_

_While I am overjoyed to find out that you have taken the great step to dive off the edge that is often immortality, I am afraid that some members of my coven are not. My opinions on an animal based food source seem to have rubbed off in a way that I did not intend for them to. All that I care about is that you are happy and living the best life that you can, whether that means that you eat an animal for blood or a human does not matter much to me. You have and will always be a good woman of your own morals, which I can respect and understand. Friends do not have to agree on everything and this is something that we can debate in a better setting._

_Edward and Bella refuse to speak your name. I am saddened that they show such disrespect to people that I once called my own family. You and Aro will always be good friends of mine as long as you stay true to your nature as good people and good vampires of your own morals and ways of being. Recalling my memories from my time in the Volturi, I can safely say that Edward and Bella are misguided in their perceptions of your family. While often seen as frightening and as having an iron fist when dealing with crime, the Volturi are just like any other coven on this great planet. Just because they are the ones handing out the punishments does not make them villains in any regard. If I can do anything to change their views, I will, as any further disrespect will show poorly on my duty as Edward's father and the leader of the Olympic Coven._

_As I do not have a gift, I hate to say that I can not share my own experiences on the matter as someone like Jasper or Alice would be able to. Unfortunately, I find myself blinded by the lack of a gift when it comes to reliable knowledge that can be passed over to you. The gift that you possess does sound quite like Aro's, but it most definitely is more powerful. While he can turn it on and off, the fact that you can see it from a glance will make you one of the most impressive vampires I have ever had the good pleasure of knowing._

_Even from the time that I first met you, I knew that you were a dutiful person who looked for the good in everything that you find. You give those who even I would not give a chance, and give them that push to improve yourself. As a queen, this will likely become your greatest strength and my favorite value that you have brought to the table. In many ways, I wish to be more like you, to give without question and to give that second chance._

_Control will be your most needed talent when being a vampire. I hope that you will be able to come back to Forks sometime so that we can chat. Esme sends her regards. While she does not show it, I know that she misses having you around. Just know that she loves you just like she loves any one of her own vampire children. Our arms and hearts will always be open to when you need us._

_Always warm regards,_

_Carlisle Cullen_

While Carlisle's letter had been uplifting, almost reassuring due to the fact that I did know him before I was a vampire, it lacked a piece of knowledge that I so desired.

I stared at the piece of paper, calling upon my gift to give me _something._

**_Carlisle Cullen wrote this letter to you. All information enclosed is honest and true. The wax used was given to him as a Christmas present many years ago from Aro. He wants to tell you about the newborn army, but Alice and Edward are holding him back. He feels torn between his friendship with you and what they think will be best for the Olympic Coven. The people on your side are Esme, Jasper, and Rosalie. Emmett has decided to stay out of this one, knowing that taking a side during this time could do more harm than good._ **

The helpful bit of information was noted in my mind, allowing some sense of ease to flow through me. I had people on my side and that was what mattered. Carlisle always did what was best for the most people in his coven and if he wanted to take on the newborns alone, the Volturi would not need to interfere just yet.

My next letter sounded much less formal and much more _Rosalie._

_Dear Anna,_

_I know that you may expect me to be angry that you turned because of what happened to me, but know that I am not and that I really am happy for you. Human life was not what you were meant to be. If immortals could be born, you would have been born one of us._

_Nothing about your ADHD would make you any weaker, if that is what was bugging you. I love you the way that you are, and if you're an ADHD ridden newborn, so be it! No matter what, you have my love and loyalty. I plan to be texting you soon. Please know that ########## is my number and if I call you, it's important._

_You got so lucky. Scoring three mates, getting to be a queen, and being a gifted vampire? Yeah, could never be me. This gift of yours sounds cool. We'll have to talk about it later._

_Life around here is hectic, but if your gift is what you say it is, you likely already know enough to know that we are in some shit. Don't come over if that's what you are coming over for. Carlisle and Edward will kill me if they find out I slipped anything. I wish that you could be here to help us through this, even if it meant that you had to deal with Edward and Bella. It sounds selfish, but having you around here just makes everything go better. Things don't go as bad when you have a friend like you around._

_Gosh, I hate Bella right now. I don't even care if Edward likes her and calls her his mate, they aren't mates and I hate her stupid butt. She's insulting you without even using your name. I know that Carlisle won't tell you that, but you're my friend and you deserve to know. It's like her whole life revolves around Edward being a vampire and her being a human. If that didn't exist, her world would revolve around the fact that you left and now you're a pretty vampire queen sitting up on a throne with your three evil mates. Evil my butt, I bet they treat you like the queen you are._

_I swear I hate my life right now,_

_Rose_

My blonde friend always did have a flair for the dramatics. Rose must have been pretty dramatic in her human life to become _this_ dramatic in her immortal life. Emmett and her were the most dramatic people I had ever come to know. **_Emmett sends his love in this letter as well. He tried to draw on one of the pages but Rose yelled at him to stop._**

I turned to the final letter, written by my favorite southern boy. _Jazzy my man._

_Dear Queen Anna of the Volturi,_

_I am sorry that I was unable to send you a letter the first time like most of the group did. I think you know that I don't really do letters and everyone's emotions just messed with me._

_The newborn stage sucks. There, I said it. It just actually sucks. I remember when I was a newborn. I couldn't control my gift and all of the war and violence really took a toll on my mental health. Training newborns is something that I do have experience with, so if you need any tips, just write to me. I'm always here for you._

_I never had to resist your blood because I don't have to deal with you being anyone's singer. I never really said that, but I think that's what's going on with Bella. She's Edward's singer and since I can feel and manipulate everyone's emotions, I can feel his hunger. I used to love going to school with everyone, but now I have to control myself if I were a newborn again._

_Having such a voice inside of your head must be terrifying. I tried to ask Edward about it, to see if he had any knowledge on what it could be, but he wrote it off and told me to never talk about you in front of him. He never even used your name. I think I nearly tore his head off right then and there. The only thing that kept me from doing it was Alice. She doesn't hate you, but she doesn't like the fact that you're with the Volturi. Nobody will listen to us when we say that you're doing well and that the vampire world will be better with you in charge with your mate and your coven. We need laws and your gift will help get the truth, even when you are from afar. Don't ask, Rose and Carlisle told me about the range._

_What is it with you and your rolling? You used to roll all over me when you didn't get enough food and now you do it with blood. Clearly you are way too innocent if you don't know why they don't like it. Since I am a southern gentleman, I will not be the one to explain such a topic. Ask your mates, I bet that they think you know why it makes them uncomfortable. Maybe just Aro would know, but you know what I'm getting at._

_Since everything is so weird around here with Bella and everything, I think I should be the one to tell you that Edward proposed to Bella. It happened yesterday and it's all that everyone is talking about. We have many things we need to deal with before a wedding can take place, but it is bringing some light to our current predicament. They seem happy with each other, even if they don't give off the mate emotions I know come from Esme and Carlisle. It annoys me that the two of them call each other their mate when Edward knows, deep down, that they are not. Alice is not my mate and I know that, we both know that. It just hurts to know that one of them could reject their one and only for each other when push comes to shove._

_I hope that the Volturi will do better with you. Your name pops up with other covens, mainly the Denalis. They don't really like the Volturi, but they sound happy about the kings finding their mate. A nice one at that. You could have been a terror and the world could have fallen into a tyrannical dictatorship. Right now, it's more of a monarchy. A really odd monarchy with no real lines of succession_

_I shouldn't take up any more of your time, but I do really hope that you are living your best life and being the best version of yourself that you can be. I'll always stand by you._

_Dealing with stuff,_

_Jasper W. :)_

I smile up at the smiley face and close the letter, returning it to its envelope. Things were going to change, and I would make sure that it would be for the better. We would win the battle and I would get to see the Cullens. No Isabella or Edward would be able to stand in the way of my friendships.


	20. We're Off to See the Cullens, the Wonderful Cullens in Forks

Things had gotten bad in Seattle. While I knew that Edward and Bella would not want to see me, things were getting out of hand. If the Cullens were not getting things done, we would have to come.

Doing just that, we had arrived in Forks, Washington.

Caius had refused to leave my side, thinking that the elite guard was not enough manpower to protect his newborn mate. I didn't mind, the guards and I had gotten close, with them calling me mother and all. In a way, I was like Esme. The leaders of a coven could be seen as a parental figure. It was like that in the Olympic Coven and it was like that in the Volturi.

It was nice to become a surrogate mother since I could not have any children of my own.

"Mother, you must not wander. Caius will be angry if he finds out that I let you slip out of my sight again. You know how he gets with you," Jane reprimands my behavior. I simply smile at her before making my way back to the apartment that I had stayed in for a year before really starting my life.

"Caius will do nothing to any of you. My wandering has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me being a complete airhead," Jane scowls at my self-deprecation.

It would only be an hour before we arrived to meet the Cullens and I had become antsy. I knew that nobody would say anything too bad about my red eyes, nothing that was actually true anyways. They could go on about how I was now some sort of monster due to my choice in diet. Those words would come out of the two people that I had to cut from my heart.

Even after everything, those two still held a place in my heart, no matter how small.

"You should not speak about yourself in that way, mother. The only person who is an airhead in our coven is Afton," I laugh at the small jab to Chelsea's mate. The man truly was the biggest airhead that the vampire world had ever seen. How he survived his newborn stage was unknown.

"He is an airhead, isn't he?" I laugh a little bit harder at the thought of the untamable vampire. While he could be the thickest person in the room sometimes, he was a loyal and fierce friend to anyone who gave him the time to prove himself.

"Dear mother, you have not seen Afton at his dullest moments yet. Even his mate gets infuriated with him at times," Alec walks into the room. _Vampire hearing does have its benefits. You all know when you have the go ahead to take a jab at your friend. Yeah, I know that you all think of Afton as your friend, even when you tease him like you do._

"One time, he accidentally ripped his _own arm off._ If that does not scream _I am an idiot who has no place anywhere_ than I do not know what does, mother," I laugh at Jane's story. _How does someone even rip off their own arm? Like, do you just not realize that you're ripping it off until it's too late or something? I'll have to ask later._

"Or that one time where he flung Felix out of the window," Alec notes.

"He always smashes his ipods. Thankfully we all have a pretty hefty salary."

"You know, we should get revenge for Felix if he doesn't," Alec plots.

"Is that a plan I smell, brother?"

"It is, sister."

______________________________________________

By the time that Jane and Alec got done with their prank plans, I had some time to spend with Alec, alone. I had never actually been alone in a room with the young looking vampire. He was always with someone by the time I found him, surrounding himself with his sister or Akila and Harb, who I could not for the life of me find alone either.

The two of us were both awkward teenagers who now were going to have to deal with the awkward silence that came with being so socially inable. Alec just pursed his lips and stared out of the window, watching the birds as they chirped away on the outside. June was truly a beautiful month to be in Forks. It was one of the few months that wasn't perpetually depressing with rainstorms.

"Are we going to be bored for the next hour or are we going to talk?" I deadpan. Alec turns back to me and lets out a childish giggle.

"I don't know, are we going to be bored?" He snarks back. This was the Alec that I knew, the boy that I had grown to love as a son. Even if he wasn't my own, he would always have me here as the mother that he never really got to have.

"Let's play a game," Alec pipes up and giggles some more. "How about 20 questions? I don't know that much about you still."

"Ask away, mother," the vampire urges, sitting down comfortably on the bed.

"What is your favorite thing to do when none of us are either fighting Romanians or dealing with newborn armies? There has to be more to the Volturi than this."

"When we aren't playing soldier, I like playing with Jane. We've played almost every game known to humankind, but it never gets old. It gets really competitive between the two of us. Jane takes everything as a challenge to her worth. It's really sad. I wish that my sister could see that some things are meant to just be for _fun_ and not for _fight_ ," Alec lowers his head.

"I think that Jane is a tough cookie to crack. She just doesn't get along with many people. You two usually stick to each other like glue. The two of you have gotten better since the Yemeni Coven joined. You, Jane, Akila, and Harb stick to each other now," Alec's face lights up at the mention of his new friends.

"Ok, my turn. Do you know why the Masters hate Edward and Isabella so much?" The question was one that I was not expecting. I was surprised that some of the guards could pick up on the hatred that laced my mate's voice as they spoke of the vampire and his blood singer.

"Honestly, I think that there are multiple reasons why they hate the two of them. Marcus is very angry about how Edward and Isabella spoke to me. They know that not everyone will like the Volturi and their leaders. All three of them can deal with the hatred that they know people feel towards _them_. Marcus was the one to find me when I started crying about the whole thing and I know that he felt how bad I felt through the bond. Aro hates her for how she views those with different viewpoints than her own. He and Carlisle are still good friends and he knows that people can share different views on the animal diet. It makes him angry to see someone treat me with disrespect because I would not pick up a difficult diet. Caius is hot headed and he's very protective. He made me take him _here_ for heaven's sake. If sending the elite guard wasn't enough. My mates all hate them for the same things, they just hate them more for certain parts of all of the reasons to hate the two of them," I explain.

"Who are they to judge? They aren't even true mates for pete's sake!" Alec exclaims.

"I smell nothing but facts," I smirk, "So, why do you stick to Jane so much anyways?" I could feel the tension fill inside of my old bedroom. _Shit, was that a bad question?_

"It took me a long time to trust anyone but my sister. It took a long time to realize that the Volturi guards were not the people in the village. So many of the guards were just like Jane and I. They had powers that the Volturi could use. The worst part of being so hurt was that the burns they gave didn't go away when I turned, they just became deep rooted trust issues," Alec confesses.

Before I could answer, Caius comes bursting through the room with an annoyed look on his face. _Okay, that look may just be his natural face. His natural resting bitch face. Aw, but he's cute as hell either way. My little angry baby._

"We need to leave _now,_ cara mia," Alec tenses at the angry tone in my mate's voice. I just smile and walk closer to him, linking my arm with his. This seems to ease some of the tension in the blonde king, as he smiles at me. "Let's go see what the Cullens have gotten themselves into, il mio amore."

At that, it was time to leave the people who had loved me, and the people who left me behind.

______________________________________________

The area that we had arrived in was filled with the wreck that had been the aftermath of the battle between the Olympic Coven and the Seattle newborn army. **_No casualties on the Cullen side. Alice did see you coming. She did not tell the group that you were coming, just that the elite guard and some other Volturi were coming._** _Oh Alice, Akila and Harb are a part of the elite guard as well. Their gifts far outweigh yours._

As soon as the Cullens saw me, they sighed. Everyone but Alice, Bella, and Edward seemed very happy to see me, Rose even coming up to meet me. I think she would have hugged me if Caius were not glaring daggers into her. _Calm down, my angry baby, my sweetie Rose would never even think of harming me. Who else would she shop with? Alice just pisses her off when they go shopping! I am clearly the only choice._

"Anna, I am so happy that you came!" I push Caius off of me to hug my best friend. My mate lets out a whine at the small rejection of his protection. I just give him a _do not make that fucking whiny king face_.

Our embrace did not last long, as a shrill voice could be heard from behind Rose.

"What is she doing here? She isn't supposed to be anywhere near me! I thought I told you all to keep her human-killing self away from my _human_ self!" Bella's voice rang out, causing Caius to let out a feral growl as she spoke of me and my _human-killing self._

"You keep your mouth shut when it comes to our mother, human," Jane sneers, coming closer to me, her protectiveness showing.

"Mother?" A man who smelled like a wet dog asked. "Bella, who is this girl? Wait a second. . ."

At that moment, I recognized the voice of the boy. _Jacob Black, you smell awful. I see that you're still pining after a taken girl. Kind of creepy that you're here. Wait, you don't smell human at all._ ** _Jacob Black is a shifter from the Quileutes. They have a treaty that says that vampires can not feed on their lands. Jacob can turn into a wolf. These people have a form of true mates called imprints. He is not a Child of the Moon, so he is legal. He remembers you and is confused as to why you are with the Volturi. He feels betrayed that he was not told the real reason why you left Forks._**

 ****"Annalise? Is that you? What the hell are you doing with those monsters? Have you been kidnapped?" Jacob questions, confusion lurking beneath his eyes.

I push past Rose to look at my former friend. Jacob was a good person and had been crushing on Bella for _years._ He deserved someone, something better.

"Hey, Jacob. I promise that I'm here on my own accord. Did Isabella not tell you about what happened in Volterra?" At that, Jacob looks to his crush and just scoffs. I knew that the answer was no, it was written all over his face.

"No, nobody freaking told me! What happened to you, Leesie? You. . . You smell like _him_ ," Jacob looks to my mate, who I had been nesting with previously.

"Look, none of us are here to harm you all. I'm a vampire, Jacob. I know that you probably hate me for it just like Isabella does, but I'm happy. I found my _true mates._ They are similar to your _imprints,_ " Jacob looks hurt. I know that he was conflicted. **_He hates vampires, but he can't bring himself to hate you. He knows that if imprints are like mates, being away from one would be awful and that nobody should break them up. He still dreams of the day that he meets his and is happy that you have found someone that makes you happy. He is upset that you eat humans, though, and does not know what to do._**

"Jake, she's a freaking _monster_ that drinks human blood! You can't trust her!" Jacob looks to me and then looks to Isabella. The girl that he trusted or the girl that he loves.

"I'm not expecting you to like the fact that I'm a vampire, Jake. I just don't want you to try and kill me and my family for it. The Volturi are a lot different than what Isabella makes them out to be. We are a _family_ , just like the Cullens. We will honor the treaty," Jacob looks even more confused than before.

"How do you know about the treaty, Anna, the Cullens never told you about shifters and the treaty? They were going to, but they never did," Jacob realizes my knowledge on the subject. I laugh awkwardly and smile.

"You know how some vampires have gifts?" He nods. "Well, I have one. I can get information just by looking at something or someone. The knowledge gets told to me by a voice in my head. I found out about it during a trial. The guy's name was Lukas. Scared the absolute _shit_ out of me. Sorry about my _profanity_ , Carlisle, I don't think that part of me is ever going away," Carlisle chuckles and walks towards Rose, Caius, and I.

With the elite guard standing by, Carlisle is able to walk up to me. I give him a big hug, something that creates outrage from Edward and Bella, who gasp. "It's good to have you here, Queen Annalise."

"Queen," Jacob repeats. "You're the queen of the Volturi that they keep on talking about."

"All good things from almost everyone," I cackle at the small jab to his own son, "I would never disrespect my queen."

"You'd better not, Carlisle," my mate pulls me back a bit, running his large hands through my brunette hair. "We were coming to make sure that the newborn army was being dealt with. We have known for a while, but it had been made clear by Isabella that we were not _wanted._ My mate decided that she would _respect_ Isabella's decision to keep this a _secret_ from the Volturi, even if we already did _know._ The Volturi coven are not _tyrants_ and only come when _needed._ Your son, Carlisle, should do his best to remember that the Volturi do not offer second chances."

"I do not think-" Caius cut the polite man off.

"I do not _care_ , Carlisle. The only reason your boy is even _alive_ is because my beautiful _mate_ has held me at bay. Know that if he or his _stupid singer_ ever make the foolish decision to insult my mate, their _queen_ , again, they will find themselves at the bottom of a _volcano_. Do I make myself clear?" Caius looks out to the rest of the Olympic coven and to Jacob, who gulped and nodded.

"Crystal, Caius. Now that this is done, I would like to make a bargain," the guard and myself were both caught off guard. **_Bree Tanner, a newborn in the army regrets her actions and will grow with the Cullen Coven as an animal eater._** _Why thank you, demonic voice._ ** _Anytime, darling._**

 ****I shake at the voice's response. Caius peppers kisses on my face and growls at anyone who tries to get closer to me, which meant pushing Carlisle down on the ground. The Olympic Coven gasped as I stood there like a lemon.

"Cara mia, what is the matter?" Caius kissed my cheek, trying to get me to respond.

"The voice is sentient and Carlisle is bargaining for the freedom of one of the Seattle newborns from the army," I blurted out. The fellow vampires around me took in a deep breath and nodded. Jane looks pissed at this and shakes her head.

"The Volturi do not offer second chances, Cullens," she states the unwritten law of _no second chances._ Carlisle gets off of the ground and brushes off the forest floor that had collected on his pants.

"I am so sorry about Caius pushing you, Carlisle," I turn to Caius, "I don't care what mate instincts you have right now, you do _not_ push Carlisle on the ground, Caius."

"M' sorry, cara mia," my mate apologizes, nuzzling himself into me. I allow him to show his affection in front of everyone as I turn back to Jane.

"The old Volturi did not show second chances. As queen, it is time for some change in the vampire world. Bree Tanner can stay with the Cullens if she pleases. If the Olympic Coven can keep her in line and raise her as their own, she will be allowed to live for the rest of eternity. She must be regretful if she is willing to give up eating humans the way that she has," I turn to face Akila and Harb.

"I think that it is time to introduce our newest edition to the _elite guard_ ," the two of them smile and face the Cullens, who seem shocked at this announcement.

"My name is Harb and I used to be a part of the Yemeni Coven. We had allowed the former queens into our home and they had broken the laws. When we came to the Volturi, we learned that our coven leader had killed our former coven leader because he didn't like the fact that she actually respected the laws. Our queen and mother allowed us mercy as we did not know about what had been going on between our coven leader and the enemies of the Volturi. I have the ability to make people experience their worst fears and Akila is my twin sister," Harb introduces himself.

It was now time for the forever beautiful Akila to introduce herself, "My name is Akila and I am a shieldbreaker. No matter how strong the shield, physical or mental, I can break through it," at this knowledge Edward growled, knowing that his mate was a shield of some kind, "Being a part of the Volturi has been such an honor. We really are such a great family and I look forward to spending eternity with them and my mate."

"The Volturi _use_ people! They literally have a person in there that manipulates the bonds so that you feel _loyal_ to them, like you just _have_ to join them!" Edward accuses. The entire elite guard growled at the accusation. Their loyalties were never _forced._

"Look, we serve the Volturi because we want to. Chels never actually used her powers on any of us. Aro just says that to look powerful. We are all here of our own free will. We can leave, but the vampire world is dangerous. We'll be safer and happier here. We're family," Felix tries to explain to the vampire. Edward sneers under his breath.

"Do you really think so low of Annalise, Ed?" Rose's voice cracks, "She would never _betray us_ like you accuse her of doing! Just because you haven't found your actual _mate_ doesn't mean that you can bash on everyone else who _has_! Anna is a good person and you trying to smear her just makes you look like an asshole!"

Carlisle hisses at the use of language, but nods his head in agreement. "Edward, the Volturi are not supposed to be feared. They are the ones that keep this world from being taken over by people who just wish to use humans like cattle. I know that you are hurt that she drinks from humans and that she is a part of another coven now, but it gives you no right to speak to and about her the way that you have these past few months. Our _queen_ is good for the vampire world."

"She's a _monster_ , Carlisle!" Edward exclaims. "She even said that she wouldn't _care_ about drinking off of humans."

"Survival of the fittest, Cullen," Alec deadpans.

"She does not have control over us!" Edward denies.

"Actually," I take a step towards him, "I do. I just don't _use_ that power because I thought that maybe you could be _happy_ for me. But _no_ , the only time that people can be with their loves at all cost is when it's _you_ , Edward. You're so damn _selfish_! Why can't I be happy?"

"This isn't you, Annalise," Isabella denies, "This can't be you."

"I thought that you wanted to have a fresh start. I thought that you wanted a peaceful life. You get one taste of power and you act like you have any control over us! How could you do this to us? We were your friends, your family, now you act like a stranger," Alice's face turns to hurt, "How could you accept the bond with someone like them?"

"My life has always been up to me. You want to know why I accepted the bond? Here's why: I wanted a fresh start. If I can have a fresh start up here sitting on a throne than why not have that throne? Why just have humanity when you can have so much more, become so much more? Why can't you just understand that I have the chance to change the vampire world for the better? I can't do that as some human in Forks."

Caius comes over to see the pixie and then looks to Isabella. "I thought that we told you that you have to turn?"

"The date is set," the girl sneers with fake confidence.

Caius walks back to me and gives a hateful look at the human girl, "Well," he draws out, "I hope that your wedding to this _loser_ doesn't end up killing you in the end."

At that, the Cullen boy attacked my _mate._


	21. Edward Cullen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ:
> 
> fottuto idiota. you fucking dumbass
> 
> Ti aspetti che stia bene con il tuo bambino insolente dopo che mi ha attaccato e ha fatto impazzire il mio compagno perfetto? È una neonata, Carlisle! Le sue emozioni sono sensibili! Il tuo fottuto fallimento di figlio avrebbe dovuto saperlo meglio. Se mi attacca di nuovo, gli strapperò il cazzo di dosso e lo darò in pasto a un figlio della luna. You expect me to be okay with your insolent child after he attacks me and makes my perfect mate go into a frenzy? She's a newborn, Carlisle! Her emotions are sensitive! Your fucking failure of a son should have known better. If he attacks me again, I will rip his fucking dick off and feed it to a child of the moon.
> 
> Nessuno ferisce il mio bambino biondo arrabbiato. Nobody hurts my angry blonde baby.
> 
> Che cazzo vuoi, Aro? What the fuck do you want, Aro?

A feral roar ripped itself out of my mouth as I saw the boy attack one of the loves of my life. My _mate_ , my equal, my perfect match. Normally I was not super possessive and dominant when it came to any of my mates. But this was no normal time.

Normally, Edward Cullen was not attacking my mate.

Caius managed to dodge the first attack with ease. Carlisle didn't have any time to react before I used my newborn strength and ripped off my former friend's arms clean off. The crackling sound boomed through the stretch of land. The Olympic Coven gasped as they heard him cry out in pain.

I was still so _angry. What right? I'll fucking kill you, Edward!_ I knew that he could hear me as I rendered him completely immoble, throwing his arms on the ground before ripping off his legs as well. It must have hurt like a bitch, but I didn't care. Nobody would attack my mate and get away with it. Even if he hadn't actually done any damage to Caius, my inner vampire was in a frenzy.

With anger in my heart, I punched Edward in the face. I punched him _over and over again_ until cracks were all over his face. The rest of the Cullens and even the guard looked at the scene in horror.

When I moved back from him, ready to take off his head, I heard crying coming from Bella. I growl at her and get ready to take off his head.

"Do something, Carlisle!" the girl cried out to the coven leader before turning to Jacob, who is getting ready to shift.

"If you shift I will rip you limb from limb!" Caius shouts at Jacob, who takes a step back. My mate comes closer to me. I don't even bother to look at him, ready to kill the man who dared attack my mate, one of the three kings of the vampires. Caius took a hold of my shoulders and held me back from attacking Edward, which had become my main priority.

My emotions were in control. I didn't care that killing Edward could hurt the people that I cared about. He had tried to hurt what was _mine_ and that was a crime punishable by _death._ Even if it was the newborn strength and lack of emotional control, I just wanted him dead.

I cried out under Caius' grasp, not really trying that hard to get out. I couldn't hurt him. I would never hurt my mate. I _love_ him. I would never hurt someone that I _love._ Flinging my arms, I whined at Caius who shook his head at me.

"Cara mia, he is not worth it. You will regret killing him later," Caius tries to quell my anger. I shake my head violently, disagreeing. _No I won't! I want him dead! I want to be the one to kill his stupid animal eating ass! I want to watch him burn!_ "Il mio amore, please, you're scaring everyone."

"No!" I shouted, "He tried to _hurt_ you! I will _never_ forgive him for this! He deserves to _die_!"

The Cullen patriarch looked at me with sympathy before running back to his mate, who was shaking in fear at my outburst. I didn't care at the moment that people were scared of me. _I hate you, Edward. I hate you so much. You tried to take away my mate! Fuck you. Fuck you. I hope that you die. I hope that you break a law. I want you dead!_

"My love," my mate says in English, "I am okay. Annalise, please do not kill the stupid child. You may not be upset that _he_ has died, but you will be upset that you hurt his family later."

I stop thrashing and take a good look at the group of vampires and the one lone shifter. They were _afraid of me._ The group had never been less powerful than myself. I was a _newborn_. Vampires as young as myself were _dangerous._

My mate hushed me and kissed my head softly, sending out a glare to the broken down Cullen boy. "You are lucky that I have shown you mercy on this day, fottuto idiota," he cusses at the 17 year old.

"Caius, there is no need for such foul words," Carlisle tries to reprimand, only to be met with some more foul words from my mate.

"Ti aspetti che stia bene con il tuo bambino insolente dopo che mi ha attaccato e ha fatto impazzire il mio compagno perfetto? È una neonata, Carlisle! Le sue emozioni sono sensibili! Il tuo fottuto fallimento di figlio avrebbe dovuto saperlo meglio. Se mi attacca di nuovo, gli strapperò il cazzo di dosso e lo darò in pasto a un figlio della luna," Caius threatens in Italian. The coven members that knew the language snickered. Those members were Jane and Alec, who didn't like the boy in the first place.

Carlisle was embarrassed by the show of language used by my mate who was starting to be affected by my messed up emotions. Jasper, who had picked up on the anger and tried to calm me down, starts to realize just how heated things were getting.

"Please, Carlisle, just leave it. Edward is in the wrong here. I know for a fact that newborns are volatile and need some extra attention. Annalise was just reacting to the mating bond that she has with Caius. Let's just put Edward back together and go inside," Jasper suggests. Alice looks betrayed but doesn't say anything else. Esme comes to pick up the pieces of her adopted son, giving me a warm look on her way back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Isabella Swan huddled into Jake's chest. _This is borderline cheating at this point, I swear to god. What are you in? A love triangle? Between a werewolf and a vampire? The opposing teams. You will always hurt one of them! How stupid are you? Dumb enough to date the dumbass who attacks my angry blonde baby._

I give Isabella a glare and threaten, "If any one of you ever attacks one of my mates again, I will destroy you. Nessuno ferisce il mio bambino biondo arrabbiato."

Caius chuckles at the nickname before kissing my cheek lovingly.

"Anna I am so sorry about him. I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again to you or your mate. Emmett and I will deal with Edward and Bella," Rose promises, giving me an apologetic smile. **_Honesty._**

I wrap my arms around Caius' neck and pull him into a sweet kiss. My mate purrs in content before picking me up off the ground, giving the Cullens one last glare before speeding off with me still in his arms.

______________________________________________

The way back to Italy was a long one filled with Caius and his intoxicating scent. There was no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be able to let my mate out of my sight for a while. He could be attacked at any time and I wasn't willing to risk it. While he was much older and could likely rip through any enemies that came at him, my instincts just told me to cling onto him and never let him go.

My attachment did not go unnoticed for very long, my mate trying his best to calm me and allow him to do _anything_ besides hold onto me. Yes, I was being irrationally clingy and annoying, but I was just so damn _terrified_ that something could happen to my mate that all sense of reasoning I once had was thrown promptly out the window.

"Anna, are you going to do this for the rest of eternity?" my blonde mate whines, still accepting my displays of affection.

"I don't know," I answer honestly, "I just _can't_ let you go."

He sighs and nods. I knew that he understood that what happened in Forks would affect me for a while. The length of time that I would be possessive of him was unknown and we would have to make due with my newborn self.

I try and pry my arms off of him and feel a sharp pain go through my chest, forcing me back to my mate. "It _hurts_ ," I complain. Caius shushes me and wraps his arms around me once more.

The private jet that we took to Forks was huge and the rest of the guards that had come with us decided that they would stay in the back of the plane, allowing us some well needed alone time.

"The bond?" I nod, whimpering slightly. Just when Caius was going to pull me up closer on his chest, his phone started to ring. He lets out an angry growl and accepts the call. "Che cazzo vuoi, Aro?"

" _What the hell happened in Forks, Caius? The bond went crazy! Now Marcus and I just get a damn pain in our chest! He says that it's the bond! Is she safe?_ " Aro sounds like he's in a frenzy himself, using swears that I'd never heard him use before. My mate was not the type to just cuss someone out over the phone.

"She's right here on speaker you imbecile! The stupid telepath tried to attack me and our mate got very angry. Ripped all of his limbs off and almost cracked his face in half. Now she won't get off of me and says that leaving my arms _hurts_ ," Caius explains.

I look over to the phone and smile at the name, "Baby I miss you."

" _Il mio amore, are you alright? Did the Cullen boy hurt you? Why are you in pain?_ "

"Hush, Aro, I'm fine. Ever since Caius got attacked I just can't be away from him without being in physical pain. It feels like it's tugging me back to him. I don't wanna leave him alone, Aro. Don't make me leave him alone," I whined. I could hear Marcus sigh from the other side of the phone.

" _Tesoro, this can happen when you believe a threat is near your mate. Caius is no longer in any danger and you do not need to protect him as he is always safe with you,_ " Marcus explains through the line. I shake my head and move Caius' arm away from the bag of blood he was about to take, causing him to groan.

"Cara mia, let me get the blood for us, please," I shook my head and grabbed it for him. "You need not treat me like glass. I am in no danger up in the aircraft."

"It doesn't feel like that," I rumble, nuzzling my head into his shoulder. "I can't let anything like that happen again."

"What do you expect? Cara mia, you cannot remain attached to me like you are one of my limbs for the rest of time. At some point we will need to feed and I will not be able to carry you anymore," I frown. I knew that he was right, but it didn't remove the pain whenever I even _thought_ of moving away from him.

" _I would recommend that you let our mate calm down and let her work herself back into being away from you for periods of time. Give it a day or two and she should be able to go back to normal. Seeing your mate in danger is supposed to be very traumatic and she is still a newborn,_ " Marcus suggests.

" _Keep her comfortable, brother_ ," I could hear the worry in Aro's voice. Caius just replies with a simple _ok_ and hangs up the phone. My blonde mate puts the phone down and takes the blood bag from me, taking a sip. I smile as he passes it back to me, allowing me to finish off the bag.

Even if things had gotten crazy and things were about to get crazier, everything just felt _right._ I was here with one of my mates and I had made sure that he was safe. I had done my _duty_ as his most loyal mate.


	22. Ti Amo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:  
> Smut
> 
> ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ:
> 
> Ti senti così fottutamente bene. You feel so fucking good.
> 
> Mio re. My king.
> 
> Ti amo così tanto, cazzo. I love you so fucking much
> 
> Fottimi lì! Fanculo, è così bello! Fuck me right there! Fuck it feels so good!
> 
> Non durerò se continui a farlo, mia regina. I'm not going to last if you keep on doing that, my queen

Most of the time I would be spending more equal time with all of my mates but now that I had experienced the true pain of seeing Caius in danger I couldn't let him leave my sight, causing us to nearly be attached at the hip. While now we were not completely attached like we were on the plane, I still kept him cooped up in his chambers.

"Cara mia, what are you doing?" My handsome mate questions me. "Are you going to roll all over me _again?_ Have we not fed you enough blood bags to satiate your thirst today?"

I frowned. Even thinking of the euphoric red liquid lit my throat on fire.

"Don't make me hungry, mate," I whispered into his chest, "I don't like being this hungry all the time. I'm sorry that I roll around, but it's just my natural response to being hungry."

Caius sends me an apologetic smile, pulling me closer to the upper part of his chest. "Do not think that you need to apologize for something that is instinct to you, Anna. It is just _uncomfortable_ most of the time for you to roll on us like you do. We can tolerate it for the rest of eternity if it helps you, but it is somewhat _awkward_."

"What the hell do you mean by _awkward_ , Caius?" I ask, completely oblivious to whatever was laying out right in front of me. I was often innocent to these kinds of matters, having never really been close to anyone in my lifetime.

My blonde mate let out a deep chuckle before putting his hand in mine. "You truly are the most innocent person I have ever met. With being around the behemoth, I would have guessed that you would pick up on his dirty jokes and annoying remarks. Alas, my brother and I have gained innocence and purity from you," Caius sounded very proud of this fact. _I still am so confused._ My mate seemed to recognize my confused face. "Come on, cara mia, how can you not understand this? Have you not gained any information on this matter from that little voice of yours? Has it not told you the _bad things_ yet?"

_Care to explain, voice?_ **_I'll let you figure this one out, Anna darling._ ** _I hate you._ **_I love you too._ **

"She won't tell me, Caius," I whine, "She won't tell me a _thing_ about this! I mean, why can't she just tell me what I need to _know_. I want to _know._ "

"Your thirst for knowledge is likely the reason she is here," the blonde king muses. "You are one of the most curious women I have ever met, Annalise. I cannot believe that with all of your wit and newfound knowledge that you cannot piece together this _one_ puzzle."

This was the part of my mate that I both loved and hated at the same time. While the blonde king was sometimes the kindest and the most attentive mate I could ask for, he was also sometimes the biggest pain in the ass. During his pain in the ass moments, he will just _tease me_ relentlessly. His comments could drive me insane sometimes.

"This _one_ puzzle can't be that important if she won't tell me," Caius lets out a chuckle.

"Or it could be the _most important_ bit of information you get about us yet. Clearly you will never know if you simply _give up_ , amore," His voice now turned playful, my mate put his hands firmly on my shoulders, "You wouldn't want to give up, now would you, cara mia? The great queen of the Volturi _giving up?_ "

"You're mean, il mio re. How could you insinuate something so horrid about your ever protective and dutiful mate?" Caius lets out a hardy laugh. My face turns cold, sending him a small glare. "I do not give up, simply let it go."

"Oh, that's _exactly_ what you're doing. _Letting it go,_ " he says sarcastically, flipping my hair out of the way. "Cara mia, you are mio amore, but sometimes you are just too much. Give yourself the chance to figure out something on your own. Newborn annoyance and ever powerful ADHD should help you."

"You have no clue how ADHD works, do you?" He lets out a strained noise before sighing.

"Teach me sometime _later._ Right now you should be figuring out the secret of why men do not like it when women roll all over them like overgrown cats," I huff.

"Fine," my mate gives me a wide grin. "I will go through the process of _guessing_ what it could be only if you tell me if I'm getting closer or not. I need _guidance._ I am not a woman of _patience_ , il mio re."

"I can do that, cara mia."

"Let's see...Is it because it's annoying?" Caius took in a deep breath before shaking his head. "Is it because it makes you all look weird when I do it?"

"A little bit warmer, but still way off. Change the wording and you'll find it." _Change the wording? Weird? I mean, it could make them look like bad mates if their mate was rolling around in hunger on them._

"Does it make you look like a bad mate because I roll around when I'm hungry and you want me to be full?" My mate took a much sharper inhale.

"No. Wrong words. It doesn't matter what it looks like." _Look. What other words could I even use there? Look...wait. Looks and feelings._

"It makes you feel weird," I state. Caius laughs and nods, his eyes darkening slightly. _Is he hungry? I haven't let him have any of the blood bags! He must be really hungry._

"Weird really isn't the best word to describe it, but yes, it does make us all feel a bit weird having you rolling around on us like that. I suspect that you are innocent on this subject as well, my dearest mate?" Caius almost sounds pained as he says it. "Do I have to spell it out for you, cara mia?"

"I don't get how rolling around makes someone feel weird. Lots of things have rolled around on me and I've been fine? Is it just a vampire thing?"

"More like a male thing," I was still so lost by Caius' words. Clearly whatever education I had been given on men was failing me. I had never claimed to be a genius with people, but usually I wasn't this _stupid. Is this something that everyone knows? If so, I really am an idiot._

"Baby I don't _understand_ what you're trying to tell me," I whine. "Just tell me what you need to tell me!"

"It's frustrating!" Caius almost cries out, "It's _sexually frustrating!_ Do you know how _hard_ it is to have your gorgeous mate rolling on your _lap_ , unable to do or say _anything_ about it? It makes us want to bang you into a _wall_ whenever you do it! With the mating bond incomplete we feel _drawn_ to you in so many ways. We do not wish to _impose_ on your right to choose when you lose your innocence, but it has just been _difficult._ "

If I were still a human, my face would have been bright red.

 _Oh god. Oh god. Sexual. It felt_ ** _sexual_**. _I didn't mean to make them deal with something like that! I've been rolling around constantly for almost two months and they've been sitting jack and playing it off like they''re fine._

"I'm sorry, Cai-" my mate quickly cuts me off.

"Do not feel sorry, cara mia. I should not have been so _severe_ with my wording. It is my fault and my fault alone. You should not feel any guilt. Our bodies' _reactions_ are not your doing," I frown.

"They really aren't yours' either, Caius. You know that I love you, all of you. I love even the parts of you that you may despise. If I am not at fault then neither are you. Is there anything else that I do that I should try to cut back on? Besides that I can't think of anything else that would cause _sexual frustration_ from you three."

"No, there is nothing else. Do _we_ do anything that ticks you off, metaphorically speaking?" My mate opens the discussion.

"There's nothing that you can stop. That is, if you can stop looking like walking sex gods. I swear, you three are the most attractive men I have ever met or even _seen._ Everything that you all _do_ sets me off," my love chuckles before running his hands through my hair.

"I think it unwise to fill our egos any further, cara mia. When Aro sees this, it will be Noah's Arc in this castle for a long time. I swear, that man and his attentiveness to his appearance," I let out a huff at the small jab to my mate.

"Do you not care for your hair as if it were your own child?" The blonde king lets out a drawn out whine. "Don't even act like you don't."

"I do it all for you, mia regina," my mate's sweet talking really was working on me. My insides turned to mush as I swooned at his addressing of me as his queen. "Everything I do is for my queen."

"You see, this is what I mean. The three of you get all romantic on me and it makes me _crazy_ ," I admit, "You can't just say all of this and then leave me _hanging._ "

My mate just lets out a low hum, his hands tracing my exposed collarbones, pressing down on a pressure spot, causing me to have to hold in a low moan that was threatening to escape my lips.

"What are you doing to me, Caius?" My voice was barely a whisper as his hands trailed my porcelain skin.

"It depends, cara mia," he whispers huskily in my ear, "What is it that you want me to do to you?"

 ** _He wants you, Annalise. He wants you in the worst ways possible. The choice is up to you. It will always be up to you._** The voice in my head assured me.

Bringing my hands up to touch his cheek, I looked him in the eyes, finding that his eyes had turned completely black, the nice red color gone, replaced by lust and desire. Desire for me. "I want you, mio re, all of you. Please."

Without another word, Caius pulled me into a passionate kiss, his hand now on the back of my head, making sure that the space between us would remain closed. Shifting slightly in the chair while our lips were still connected, I moved my legs so that they were straddling him in the lounge chair we had found ourselves on. My mate groaned into our kiss as I moved myself, trying to get myself at a better angle.

My blonde mate grabbed my hips and stopped them from moving on him, letting out a low growl when I tried to squirm under him, his grip just a little bit uncomfortable. "If you keep on moving around, cara mia, I will not be able to control myself," he warns, moving me away for a moment so that he could rip off his own shirt, the fabric finding itself in tatters on the floor.

" _I want you_ ," Caius growls, "but I don't know how to do _this,_ " I admit, embarrassed that I had no experience in this department. My mate gives me a smile and nuzzles himself into my neck.

"Do not be embarrassed, amore, I will _teach_ you," he whispers, his breath sending shivers up my spine. "First, _take off your shirt._ "

I did as he asked of me, taking off my shirt in front of him for the first time. Caius took in a deep and unneeded breath before placing his hands on my waist, feeling my translucent skin flexing slightly under his hold.

"Second, _take off your bra,_ " His words were laced with less confidence and more desperation. I did just as he told, unclasping my black bra and throwing it to the floor. Caius growls as he sees my exposed breasts. "You look _magnificent,_ mia regina. Can I touch you?" Nodding, I allow his hands to explore my chest, gripping at the small crevices in my skin. I could hear him let out a whisper of a groan as he looked me in the eyes.

I felt myself flex my hips forward as he touched my breasts, letting out a small whine of pleasure as my core started to twist and turn.

"Give me _more,_ mio re," I whine. "I need you to give me _more._ "

Face turning to a snarl, my mate picked me up, chest bare and all, and threw me on his bed, almost cracking the bed frame. Speeding back over to me, Caius pins me down to the bed, making sure that I would be unable to escape his grasp.

"You are playing a dangerous game, cara mia," my mate whispers, his hands on my hips, securing my place. " _You make me insane, Anna._ "

I let out a whimper as he rips off my pants, leaving me with only my underwear on. I looked down to his pants, which were still on at this point, but looked much tighter and had quite a large tent in them. Taking my chance while I had it, I unbuttoned his pants and tore them off of him myself, wanting _more._ God, I just wanted _him_ and whatever he could _give me._

The large tent in his pants had become the _extremely large_ tent in his underwear. I gulped.

Caius lets out a low chuckle. "Like what you see, _mia regina_?" I nodded, unable to move my hands any more, not knowing what I was supposed to be doing.I had never done this before.

Annalise Volturi, the virgin queen of Volterra.

"Il mio amore, do you want this?" He asks, hand running through my hair. "We do not have to do this if you are not ready-"

"I am ready, Caius, you just look really _big_ ," my mate lets out a chuckle and takes off his underwear at the speed of light, throwing them somewhere in the room.

_How is that supposed to fit in me? That thing is not what I was expecting. How does he even fit into pants? That thing is a monster of its own kind._

Smiling down at me with love, Caius helps slip off my thong and put it somewhere else before coming down to pull me into another passionate kiss. I moaned as I felt his length prodding at my entrance, my legs opening instinctively for him. His hands moved down to my hips as he pulled me right above him.

"I'm warning you, this could hurt. I promise that I will be gentle. _At first,_ " My mate whispers into my ear, caressing my hips with his skilled hands. I nod, allowing him to make the first move.

A mixture between a moan and a whimper left my tongue as he slowly pushed into me, letting out a low groan of his own. It was not as much pain as I had been expecting, the pleasure far outweighing the pain, but it still did leave a twinge of pain in my core. Caius held onto me, shushing me sweetly as he moved farther inside until he bottomed out.

He was tearing me apart in the best way possible.

" _Move,_ " I ordered, done with waiting for his movements. "I'm fine, mio re."

Caius seemed to be turned on further by the title and started his slow thrusts, allowing me some time to adjust to his large size. _They didn't call these men gods for nothing._

Once I had truly adjusted to him, he gripped at my hips and started to test the limits of speed and strength, thrusting fast and hard into my core. I cried out as he hit spots that I never knew could feel so good. I couldn't help all of the loud moans that left my lips as he pounded into me mercilessly.

" _Ti senti così fottutamente bene,_ " he praises in Italian. "Ti amo così tanto, cazzo."

"Ti amo," I cry out as he hits one spot that makes me arch my back into the bed. "Fottimi lì! Fanculo, è così bello!"

My mate growls and gives me what I want, pounding me into the bed, hitting that out spot with unimaginable speed and force. More deafening moans and cries make their way through my lips as the pressure inside of my core increases, pulling me closer to inevitable release. I tightened around him, my body tensing all around.

"Non durerò se continui a farlo, mia regina," Caius warns.

The coils that held back my release snap as my mate hits my sweet spot, causing me to see a mixture of white and gold. I could feel the bond between us completing as Caius came just a few thrusts after me, crying out and holding my hips to his as he released inside of me.

I yelp as Caius grips my hips _way_ too hard and causes some small cracks to form on them. My mate soon realizes his mistake and moves his hands quickly away from me.

"I am so, so sorry, amore. I didn't mean to hurt you," Caius apologizes before moving out of me and huddling himself next to me on the bed. "Please forgive my stupidity."

"Caius," I kiss his cheek, "I'm fine. Don't call yourself stupid, il mio amore, you are smart and you should never think anything otherwise."

"Ti amo, mia regina."

"Ti amo, mio re."


	23. When Worlds Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kinda a filler joke chapter. This isn't a crossover, I was just bored and needed more words done.

The rest of the night my mate held me close to him, allowing both of us some rest after the day. With our bond now complete, I could feel him in ways that I never thought could be possible. My little angry blonde king's emotions now could be sensed by me through the bond, letting me know just how happy he was with himself completing the bond with me. The smug little bastard knew that he had taken my virginity and that his brothers would be jealous of his accomplishment.

It was the small things about them that really did make me swoon. Their protectiveness, their little kisses, and the way that they would compete with each other. You could often find Caius and Aro bickering about the smallest of details on things with Marcus making snide remarks to them both that would make the two of them go crazy.

Everything about the three of them made me want to have them for the rest of eternity, all to myself. Thankfully, that was what they promised me and what they would give to me, their mate and queen.

As Caius started to let out low purrs, the doors to his room opened, revealing Aro and Marcus, who looked annoyed. _God, does everyone in this castle have bad manners? At least Demetri knocks sometimes before barging in. We could have been doing_ ** _anything_** _and they choose to lack any kingly manners?_

With the two of us naked and under the sheets, we both hissed as they closed the door quite loudly behind them. My blonde mate held me in his arms as I continued to cuddle up to his chest the way I had been the entire night.

"You don't even have the _taste_ to knock?" Caius spits, "Leave us be."

"Not only have you alerted the _entire castle_ to your affairs with _our mate_ , you have also seemed to not care enough to miss two trials today," Aro seethes. " _Do you have any taste, Caius?_ "

I hiss in discontent, not liking that my mates were fighting with one another while I was naked and in the room. "Leave my angry man alone, Aro," I defend, "Me being loud is my fault."

"Oh, no, cara mia, you being _loud_ is absolutely _lovely_. No fault on your part, amore," my mate kisses my head. I giggle and pull the blankets up a bit more, almost covering my face in them. Although I had no body heat of my own, the blankets felt so _warm_ around my unclothed form.

"You really do have to _boast_ , don't you, _brother_?" Marcus' face turned to a small snarl. " _Our mate_ also needs to be at her trials as she is the _queen,_ yet you did not inform her of _any_ of the trials that are to occur today. You have specifically used all of this time for cuddling instead of doing your _job_ , forcing Annalise to go along with your _ditching_."

"I did no such thing," Caius covers the rest of my head in the blanket, forcing me into darkness, "As you said, Annalise needed some _time_ to get _comfortable_. I have provided her great comfort through-"

"Do not finish that sentence, brother," Marcus cuts his fellow king off.

" _What_? I was just telling the _truth_. Our _bellissima_ mate and I simply needed some time for the bond to stop _pulsing_ like we were some humans. Of course, _you_ should have known that, Marcus. Are you not the person who can _see_ the bonds that Annalise has?" Caius questions.

"I am, but that is not the _point._ You have caused quite the _disturbance_ in the castle," I gulp at Marcus' words. **_Anna, literally everyone in the castle heard you two. You're so_** ** _loud_** ** _honey. Vampires have better hearing. You know that. Aro and Marcus had to listen to that spectacle last night_** _. Ah, shit voice, you're right. Hell, I know that. Poor babies. Poor jealous babies._

"Why are you hiding her, Caius? Give her over, you menace!" Aro exclaims. I could hear him moving over to the bed, where Caius was still keeping me under the warm embrace of the blankets.

I purred as my blonde mate finally pulled the blankets off of my face, revealing a very annoyed Aro and Marcus. I continued to purr on Caius' chest despite my other mates' discontent with the situation. I give the three of them a wide smile and make sure that the blankets don't fall too far. I wouldn't want to flash anyone this early in the morning.

"Arooo," my voice was higher than usual, "Don't take off the blanket."

"Why not, il mio amore?" Aro asks. Caius' hand hits his own face at Aro's ignorance of their chosen sleepwear.

"We're both _naked_ , Aro," I giggle. Marcus chokes on his own spit and Aro gives a dark smile and starts to glare at Caius.

"Don't give me that look, Aro, you know how things work," Caius defends himself and pulls the blanket back over my head. I purr and go into a small trance, allowing myself to fill my nose with my mates' scents. Having them all in one room just made me feel at peace, even if they were bickering over me.

"Anna," I was snapped out of my trance as soon as I went into it as Marcus whined at me, "Please join us in the trials. It's the Romanians and we would feel much better if you were there with us and not in _bed_ with _this one_."

"I just wanna _snuggle_ ," I mumble into Caius' chest.

"I know tesoro, but we _need you_ at trial today. I promise that you can get all of the snuggles that you want _after_ trials are done for the day," Marcus promises. "Aro, let them get ready for the day. You cannot just _watch_ them."

Aro lets out a huff and leaves the room, Marcus soon following after him, mumbling something under his breath.

"Well, looks like snuggles are going to have to wait, cara mia."

__________________________________________________

Getting myself out of bed and into clothes had proven to be a challenge. While I was not _sore_ , I was still sensitive to all touches, meaning that Caius brushing my hair out was almost an issue for me as I had to deal with all sorts of overstimulation that the brush gave me. All of the sensations at once were making me weak at the knees and I just wanted to stay in Caius' room all day and go out the next day for the trials.

Alas, that was not possible.

The trials of the Romanians that we had caught were proving to be tedious. So much information all at once. My mind was going to start turning into mush by the end of these things.

_Why can't the Romanians just follow the rules?_ **_Because they're assholes._ ** _I thought you were supposed to give me facts, not opinions._ **_Ok, well it's a fact that they're assholes._ ** _Touche, voice, touche._

"Octavia," Aro draws out, "You've proven yourself to be a nuisance."

"It's what I do best, Italian _scum_ ," She spits out. I chuckle at her _fire._ If she weren't with such _assholes_ and _malicious monsters_ I may have wanted her on our side.

"The funny thing is, Octavia, that I'm not even Italian," Aro walks over to where she was being held down, putting his hand on her neck, "I'm _Greek_." My mate rips off her head with a sigh, shooting her head in the furnace like it was a basketball. He allowed Jane and Alec to rip the rest of her apart before throwing those parts in the furnace as well, giving his two soul children a tired smile. The twins did smile back, both of their mouths turned in a wicked grin.

**_Three more coming in, mighty queen._ ** _Don't fill my ego, voice._ **_Fine. When are you giving me a name though? Seriously, I need a name. I can't just be known as the voice for the rest of eternity._ ** _Give it some time, demonic one._ **_I'm not a demon._ ** _Hush._

"What are the names of the three coming in, Aro?" I ask, frowning. "I don't want to be here."

"Harold, Esther, and Mikael. I do not wish to be here either, il mio amore," Aro consoles, looking at the trio that were coming in right now. They looked more _Norwegian_ than _Romanian_. "From the Larvik Coven originally. I hate to see such old vampires having to be put down now. If they could have just followed the rules and regulations that we have put up."

"Get your filthy hands off of me, you _abominations!_ " **_Mikael. Abusive man. Asshole. We don't like him. He turned all of his children after he turned. He turned his wife, Esther. They are evil as hell and I want them dead. Please kill them, Anna dear._** _What crimes do they have under their belt, dear voice?_ ** _Conspiracy, creation of immortal children, a certain degree of exposure._** _That's enough to kill them._ ** _Do it then._** _I will, just wait a second._

"Crimes committed are as follows: the creation of immortal children, exposure, and conspiracy. It will be a fun time to kill you," I sneer, getting off of Marcus' lap. "I do think you know that we do not give second chances to those who insult and call us _abominations._ Are we not the same species, oh stupid Mikael? You are ungifted and an asshole."

"A fake queen with a dirty mouth, I should have known," He retorts. "The Romanians will have _fun_ when they _break_ you into a million pieces and send you back to your _scum._ You have no right over our lives, you _slut,_ " I growl at the insult and rip his arms clean from his body.

"No, death is too good for you," I realize, "You get a week of torture and _then_ I will revisit your punishment. Jane, make sure he has a very _fun_ time. You should know that calling the _queen_ a _slut_ is an awful idea, considering that she is the one who can tear you apart. I will _ruin_ you for your words towards women with more than one mate."

Esther screams as I tear him apart. I throw his remains to Jane and Alec. "Take his remains to the dungeon and give him _pain._ Show no mercy, my children," The twins smirk at the order and swiftly take him away.

"I do love it when you get _sadistic,_ " Caius mumbles under his breath, an evil smirk on his face.

"Esther, wife of Mikael," Aro croons, "You are also ungifted. What a shame. You have _children_ who _left_ you because of your husband and his abusive ways, do you not?"

"My children have nothing to do with me! They are all evil and power hungry! The Volturi have done nothing to protect anyone! My husband demands _respect_ and they are unable to give that!" She defends her husband.

**_More like she allows her children to be abused by her husband. Kill her. She hunts her children with her husband. They will be forever grateful that you have freed them from their running. Imagine it, running for a thousand years._ ** _Of course, my dear voice._

"Kill her for her actions against her children as well while you're at it. Mikael is abusive and hunts them like they are animals," A few of the guards let out gasps, including Felix and Renata. "I will protect your children if you will not. This is my gift to them."

Aro laughs and decapitates her, leaving Harold, who was a thin and tall man with bright red hair. _Scottish?_ ** _Spot on._**

"You have been the one to do the exposure, haven't you?" Marcus asks from his throne.

"You can't surround a lion with a bunch of lazy sheep," Harold spits at my mate, who just rolls his eyes and continues to watch Aro and I do our thing.

"Well, this _lion_ is the damned _pride male_ , so _die,_ " Aro giggles, ripping off his head with glee, tossing it in our favorite furnace. _Whoever had that thing installed really is smart. I mean, we use it all the time now. Every single day._ ** _Aro had it installed after an influx of exposure charges in the 12th century._** _Good._ ** _Very._**

"I do believe that he was the last of the people that we had to see today, Aro," Marcus sighs, getting up from his throne. "We still have things to do today," I frown.

"Do not fret, il mio amore, we simply must help you in your nest building. I have done some more research on the matter and I think we know what we need to do now," I smile at Aro's words, hugging him tightly, nuzzling my head into his chest, purring in content.

"To the nest room we _goooo._ "


	24. What a Wonderful World

The little room that my mates had picked out was not exactly _little_. In fact, it was almost bigger than their chambers. The dazzling and sparkling purple wallpaper that lined one of the walls was the perfect mix of me and what immortality had made me. The rest of the walls were made a pure white that made the purple pop even more.

A singular window allows light to come through and into the room, placed in the middle of the purple wall. The area was so _empty_ , ready to be filled with whatever we wanted. After all, this would be _our_ little shared space. Our nest would be the place where we could _all_ feel safe, warm, and loved.

I had been assured that none of the guards would come in unless we all agreed on it. No more children barging into our rooms while we were having our private conversations. The nest had also already been rendered _soundproof,_ meaning that if we _did_ decide to do anything inside, nobody would hear us like they did _last night._

"Amore, what kind of bed would you like? We can get anything," Marcus brushed his hand through my hair as he pulled up a small tablet. "We can buy you literally _anything_ that you want. Within reason, of course. I am afraid that things like countries and illegal items are off the table."

"You act as if I would request a human skull, Marcus," my mate brushes his hand over my cheek, "I am not interested in countries when I already have my coven and my mates. What more would I really _want_?"

"Anna, you can want _anything_ and we will do our best to get it to you. My brothers and I would go out of our way to do everything that can make you happy," Aro whips past us, grabbing his own tablet and pressing a bunch of buttons that I could not see. "How big would this bed need to be, Marcus?"

"I don't know, Aro, you do that," Marcus orders at him, kissing my head softly as he picks me up. "You are the cutest little thing, tesoro."

"Put me _doooown_ ," I whine, hitting his back playfully, "You always just pick me _uuuuup._ "

All of my mates laugh and ignore my complaints, working with their tablets and showing me various pieces of furniture, looking for my approval. I guess I had to be thankful that we all had the same taste in style. God knows what would happen if we had opposing ideas. We could tear this place to pieces if we got angry.

"I think that we can all agree on one thing, this place is going to be _magnificent,_ " Caius looks around the now empty room. "Our mate seems quite fond of purple. It is quite the royal color."

"It was always so damn _expensive._ For _so long._ Only recently has the color become widely available. Now even the common person can find the color. What a thing, modern technology," Aro muses.

"Wait, purple was _expensive?_ Why?" I ask, unaware of this.

"Ah, the dye was so hard to come across. Even _royalty_ had a hard time affording the color. Have you not wondered why no flags have the color in it? They need something that is widely available. Not even Rome could afford such a flag at their prime. It is such a shame. Although some new age flags have the color in them, they have only been in use since the beginning of the 20th century," Aro explains. Caius and Marcus both nod their heads, laughing quietly. "What would our younger selves think of such a change?"

"I wouldn't believe you," Caius deadpans.

"Well that's because you're a stubborn bastard, brother," Aro snarks.

"You two, _behave_ ," I order. "I swear, you three are the most _immature_ vampires in the _entire_ world. Yeah, I said it. You're worse than Afton _and_ Emmett."

Caius and Aro gasp dramatically while Marcus just rolls his eyes and continues on with his shopping, smiling at the tablet that he had likely gotten himself for this one occasion. Still holding me, Marcus sits down on the floor, now placing me on his lap, having me face him. For some reason, I let out a stream of giggles that cannot be stopped, even when Marcus puts his hands over my mouth.

"Tesoro, you are the _scariest_ thing, you know that? That _giggle_ is worse than _Aro's_ ," Aro's jaw drops at the comment made by Marcus. "Stop _giggling_ like a _maniac_ and _cuddle_ with me!"

"You're just proving my point," I kiss his cheek, causing my two other mates to groan in jealousy.

"Are you not the one who literally begged me to not stop cuddling with you this morning? Cara mia, such double standards," Caius shakes his head. I frown and swat him away from Marcus and I when he tries to swoop me up. He sits down next to Marcus and rubs my cheek lovingly.

"Am I the only one who is going to work over here? Is our mate too much of a distraction," I glare at Aro and shake my head.

"You sound like the principal when I wore spaghetti straps to school," I say. I knew that he had seen that memory and would know exactly what I was talking about. Aro doubles back and lets out a sound of protest. Being compared to my old principal was not a compliment in the slightest. Everyone hated that bastard. "Cuddling is all a part of the process, amore."

"Ugh."

__________________________________________________

When things were said and done, the place really was a nice setting. When you turned the lights off, you could see the purple LEDs that lined the shelves that we had installed. The entire project took about three days to complete, with my mates knowing people that could come in and work on any room of the castle at any time. Apparently, broken furniture and walls was normal due to our innate strength. That furniture was often a bed or a shower, for obvious reasons.

Now Marcus could get all of the cuddles that he desired in our little nesting room that had already started to smell like the four of us. When we would go inside and hang out, it would leave a trail, quite like the kind that a tracker would use. To the rest of the vampires, it didn't smell that much different, but to Demetri, who would now always knock when he would open the door, it smelled much different, less bland.

I could see my book loving mate reading on our little couch, the light from the window allowing him better light. Smiling, I take out a book from the small black bookshelf that had been made for this room specifically, and start to read.

The little book I had picked out was one that I had read many times over. The Lord of the Flies may have been a book that I was forced to read to pass 9th grade English, but it was good and did hold a special place in my heart. The book was likely the only reason I had even passed Mr. Kolt's class, seeing as English was not my best subject.

Laying down on the bed, I start to read. I don't think that I could have even realized that three hours had passed, just that I had finished the book for what seemed like the 100th time. The sun had finally started to go down in Volterra, meaning that Marcus' skin did not have that diamond glow that it did when I had started reading my novel.

"Are you all going to just read all day?" Caius asks from a chair. I had been so caught up in my book that I hadn't even noticed him coming in or sitting down.

"Yes," Marcus answers simply, "Don't bother us."

Caius huffed and layed down next to me, hugging me as I put my finished book down. "I missed you, cara mia. You didn't even _look_ at me when I walked in, too focused on that _book._ "

"What do you have against books?" I question. "They give a good story and some great information on how things work. Anyone who does not read is clearly not educated at all and needs to start reading immediately."

"We can just _speed read_ since we are vampires. I get the story _so quickly._ It is _boring_ ," he whines into my chest. "Spending my time with you is much more enjoyable."

"You would not be so bored by the book if you had the patience to _actually read it_ , brother," Marcus argues. "Those who find books boring are _dull_ themselves."

"I am not dull!" Caius exclaims, "I am never _dull_ , you slab of stone."

"Still using the same insults, I see. Get smarter and we will have a meaningful conversation about this. I may even let you _debate_ me on the matter," Marcus rolled his eyes and continued to read his precious book, taking his time to enjoy the story. Currently he was reading the Half-Blood Prince over again, still waiting for the last book to be released to the public. Since they only released in the summers, we would all have to wait and see what happens during Harry's seventh year.

"Has Caius read the Harry Potter series himself? It helped me get into reading. I would love to hear what he has to say about _the toad_ ," Marcus laughs and shows me the book. "Oh god, Caius is a Slytherin, isn't he?"

"He is. I'm most definitely a Ravenclaw. I still don't know if Aro would be a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin. He is sneaky, but nobody _knows_ that but us," Marcus theorizes.

"What the hell is that? Ravens with claws and you think I _slither in?_ " Both Marcus and I cackle and have to hold our chests to stop ourselves from falling over on the floor. "What? Who is this _Harry Potter_ and why is he so special?"

"Here," Marcus gets up and grabs the first book from the shelf, "Read it the right way. The _human_ way. I promise, you won't regret it. You will learn what makes Harry Potter special and you will learn the ways of the wizarding world through these novels. They aren't real, but we all wish that they were."

"You will be able to figure out the houses and understand which one that I fit into. I do believe that Marcus has already figured that one out," he nodded, knowing that I was likely the biggest Hufflepuff the world had to offer. Yes, I could be evil and cunning, but that was only at my _job._ It was all an act in the end. I was a loyal and determined little puff and I was proud of it.

"Must I? It cannot be _this_ good. Marcus, you never read fiction! What is up with you?" Caius denies the greatness of Harry Potter.

Before anyone could defend the great reputation of the series, Aro had opened the door and come into the nest, a copy of the second Harry Potter book in his hand. Caius lets out a groan as he reads the cover of his brother's book, seeing that he was in fact the only one who was not reading the series.

"What has gotten you into a tizzy?" Aro scoffs, sitting on a cushion in the room. "Do not mind me, I am just reading my favorite book in this series."

"Aro, you can't be reading as well! What is it with you three and this _Harry Potter?_ I don't see what could be so great about him!" Aro gives Caius an offended look, his mouth now wide open as he closes up his book and stares at his brother.

"If you dare insult my favorite series in front of me again I will find a Whomping Willow and allow it to deal with you," Marcus and I laugh. My blonde mate just looks confused at this point, not understanding the reference. "You will read it. I will force it upon you."

"Anna and Marcus already _have_ ," Caius whines.

"Then you will do what our mate wants me to do," Aro finishes the discussion, smiling and picking up where he had left off. _What a wonderful world._


	25. Maeve

Even when the Volturi were threatened, we found a way to get by. While the battle would be held in a week, my coven made their preparations. I knew full well that this could go south, that I could lose many of the people that I had grown to love. The haunting of the unknown filled my dead heart as my gift started to give me less and less information about the enemy.

We knew where they were and how many people they had, but I couldn't seem to hear what many of their gifts were. A gift could be the difference between a normal fight and a slaughter of epic proportions. Our gifted vampires could be blocked if someone was a shield. Akila would not be here for everything.

Our newest members of the Volturi elite had been deemed Shield Breaker and Fear Master. The names had flown through the guard before being released into the world. Even when Harb was not using his nickname, people who had heard of him before joining us were trembling in their immortal stances once he walked in the throne room to be judged.

"The Romanians have very few allies at this point, but we suspect that the West London Coven sympathizes with them and may have helped a few vampires escape while we were in their territory," Demetri lays out a map of the world on the table, pinning the locations of the Romanian base and the West London base.

During the past few centuries the Romanians had been getting _antsy_. Aro had helped recruit so many new gifted vampires and helped so many of his members find their mates that the Volturi had grown exponentially in power. They had barely any gifted vampires and relied on newborns and immortal children, who could be a nuisance to any vampire that encountered one.

The main problem with the coven was that they always seemed to have no backup plan. I had done my own reading on what had happened during the first war between the Romanians and the Volturi. From what I could gather on my own and from what my gift, of whom I had named Maeve.

Maeve had become more of a small friend than a demonic ally at this point and would go out of her way to try and give me information that I could really use to my advantage. I knew so little about her, but she was much less menacing to me and had become much more of a comfort to have around. She really could brighten up someone's day. It was a shame that Aro could not hear her while inside of my thoughts and memories.

All of the information that she had been giving me for the battle had to do with how many newborns and immortal children they had and where they were being stationed. Most of them were in the Romanian countryside where there were few humans. The few humans that did live there would just think that a missing person fell off of the mountains while climbing or something.

Vladimir and Stefan had stayed out of our sights for so long, hiding themselves with someone who had a very similar gift to Afton. While the vampire could not block their scent, their minds were clouded, making it very hard for Demetri to get a hold of them.

"The West London Coven will not be a problem. Jane and Alec know the area and can take them down with ease," Caius strategizes. "We need to find a way into the Romanian territory without causing a fuss with the locals. Those humans need to stay unaware of our presence. Who knows if the Romanians have caused exposure? If they have, we have no idea. None of the people we have brought in had exposed themselves, but others could have right under our noses."

"We do not know the area, Caius," Felix says, "None of us know the territory at all. We have not gone to war with the Romanians in over a millenia. Most of our guard has never been to Romania and has never been in the throws of a battle with them."

"Have we not been training you enough your time here, Felix?" Aro asks. "All of you are the _best_ in the _world_. The Romanians are not as strong as they may seem. _Newborns_ are what even makes them a _lick_ of a threat to our rule. They may have _two_ gifted vampires in their coven. Felix, we have over _forty_ gifted vampires, most of your leaders included. Although, Caius' military might may even be considered a gift at this point."

Felix nods his head while Demetri starts to plot areas with my blonde mate, finding all of the places that Maeve had listed and putting a tack on them. Most of the places that she had listed were so _close_ to Volterra. It was an idiotic move on their part to pick countries that we had allies near. It was even more moronic to pick their home base in _Romania,_ a place so close to our own home in Italy.

"I should let you all note that when the Immortal Children get unleashed, make sure that they do not wrap themselves around your waist. They are strong, but in the end they are childish. Their age shows when they cling on to you and don't let go. The Romanians will use that shock against you, use it as time to decapitate you," Caius warns us. Aro and Marcus both nod before sighing.

"Newborns are similar in their nature. They always go for the _easy_ kill. With their brute strength, it is imperative that you _never_ let them wrap their arms around your neck. Quick reflexes may be on their side, but we are _trained._ I doubt that Vladimir and Stefan have trained these newborns. They never do," Marcus draws out, taking a step forward, looking at the map.

"Our Mother has been training. She will be able to resist the lure of her own instincts," Alec states with pride. I smile at my soul son, who is happy that he will be able to go into the throws of battle once again.

During some of our long talks, Alec would talk about all of the things he had gotten to see as one of Aro's favorite coven children. Of course, Aro did not have a _favorite_ , as he loved all of his children, but he did care for Jane and Alec as a father rather than a leader. My mate would be the one who taught Alec how to control his power.

When Alec first turned, he had no control over his power. He was _scared_. He was scared of _everything_ and almost _everyone._ Poor Alec had almost _died._ Whenever someone tried to talk to him he would get scared and would knock someone or even himself out with his gift. According to Alec, it had taken him over a century to be trained with his gift. It took him even longer for him to stop knocking himself out every once and awhile.

"She will still need to stay with one of us. The Romanians will smell Caius on her and they will go after her. Out of everyone, Annalise needs the most guards around her for this," Marcus says. "Even with speed, strength, a gift, and training, my mate will still be in danger during this battle."

"Nothing will happen to me, Marcus," I put my hand on his chest, "Nobody in this coven is going to allow something bad to happen to me. You can stay with me if you want."

"I do believe it would be wise for you to stay with her, brother," Aro says. "In the end, you are one of the oldest vampires in the world and also one of our best trained, behind Caius. I trust you with our mate."

"Good," Marcus huffs, "I would be offended if you didn't, Aro"

__________________________________________________

The rest of our day would have to be spent in the training room. As one of the largest rooms in the Volturi Castle, the training room was most often used by the guards that patrolled the castle, with the elite guard often acting as their instructors.

Of course, Jane was one of the fiercest trainers you could ever imagine having, the fiercest always being Caius. I would compare her to one of those ex military or police officer PE coaches you would get in school. Her words were law and she would kick you in the ass if you dare disobey anything she said. While often kind once you got to know her, she was a menace in this one room. Being mean during training was something that she had to get off on in some way. Nobody could just smile at anyone's pain like she did.

Knowing that, most of the guard wanted to jump out of a building today.

"Get your head out of your ass and _work,_ Afton!" Jane screeches at the gifted vampire, who yelps and gets back to fighting with Demetri, who was his sparring partner for the time being. I just giggle and get back to fighting with Renata, who was actually _really good_ at fighting back my attacks. Her gift made me just want to _run_ from her, to give up my attacks completely and just _fail_ at beating her.

Santiago and Felix had been sparring together, as they were the only ones who could even come close in matching each other in strength. The two of them could tear down the walls of the training room if they so pleased.

Both Aro and Caius were sparring as well. Apparently, they hadn't been in the sparring room since I had come to Italy, electing to spend their free time with me rather than training. It was good to know that they would be working themselves back up to their full potential. All three of my mates did pride themselves on their ability to stand their own in a fight, seeing as none of their gifts (or just Aro and Marcus, my poor baby Caius is ungifted, but special in his own right) could be used in battle. They could however be used in the courtroom or with negotiations.

"Jane, stop bullying Afton," Alec managed to defend his fellow vampire guard from his twin sister, who was starting to almost steam from the ears with anger. The blonde vampire snarled and continued to fight with her brother with even more fire than before, grabbing at his hair and pulling him to the concrete floor. Alec cried out in pain and returned the gesture, ripping at Jane's ponytail.

While the two of them fought with each other, Renata had caught me off guard, pinning me to the ground. _Why did I have to get Aro's personal bodyguard? Obviously she is going to be better than me in combat! Why couldn't I have gotten some newborn?_ ** _The kings think that a newborn could cause you to lose a limb. Renata would never dare actually harm you. She knows the kings would murder her if she cracked you too much, let alone tore a limb off._** _Ugh, overprotective mates for the loose._

I snarl before flipping myself out of her grasp, managing to use my strength to throw her across the room. Renata flew straight into the wall, causing a loud cracking sound and a _huge_ dent to be seen when she fell to the ground, dazed. **_That's going to have to be repaired._**

"Nice job, cara mia-" Caius tries to congratulate me, but Aro grabs him and pins him to the ground, smiling at me as he does so. My blonde mate growls at him and punches him in the chest, causing him to yelp as he falls over.

"Did you have to _punch_ me, Caius?" Aro chokes out, clutching his chest. "We are _supposed to be training_."

"You _grab_ me while I was _cheering_ our mate on after her victory against _Renata_ , Aro. Yes, I did have to punch you. You deserved it, you old buffoon," Caius flips his hair at his brother before walking over to me, a smile plastered on his face.

"I think you forget that you are older than me, _brother_. You are the _old buffoon_ ," Aro argues.

"You are _both_ old and you are _both_ buffoons," I compromise. Both of them hiss under their breath. Caius kisses me on the cheek.

"Training is over for the day, guards. Go do something fun," Marcus ends the day. All of the guards let out tired sighs and speed out of the room, leaving all of their equipment in shambles. "They never do clean up, do they?"

"Nope."


	26. The Battle of the Century

No battle training could have prepared me for the idea of war. Never in my entire life did I think that I would ever be involved in something like _war._ The entire concept of killing people for food was still a bit _iffy_ in my mind, but I allowed myself to feel no grief over it. Now, killing children, even if they were immortal children, was on my mind. Yes, they were killing machines and needed to be stopped, but seeing a child go through all of that just made me want to vomit. I had to remind myself that their parents or their loved ones would want me to save them from themselves, to put them down so that they could be in a better place if there was one.

My reasoning skills would have to outweigh my maternal instinct for the time being.

"Il mio amore, we need to leave," Aro croons from the couch, picking out a cloak for me to wear into battle. It was actually quite useful according to the guards, able to slap them in the face when the enemy came too close to them.

"Time to kill some people," I sigh. My mate kisses my head and pulls me into a tight embrace. We had everything planned, but even the idea of my mates being in danger put me on edge, my instincts pulling me to do everything that I could to protect them.

"I promise that this will not be a regular thing once the Romanians are destroyed, my precious mate," Aro whispers into my ear, holding me close to him. "Just stay with Marcus. Caius and I will be able to hold our own. Always."

I nodded, moving away from him, now turning to Marcus, who had just entered our nest in order to get me. Staying close to my sire was, in the end, the best option for me, as he would be able to pull me to him through our different bonds. His face turned solemn, my mate led me out of the comforting purple room.

The Volturi would have to cross through the sea. Since I did not learn how to run on water yet, I would have to be carried by Marcus.

We would come in through the mountains. Nobody knew that we were coming. No other covens would join us in this battle. It would be us, the Volturi, against them, the Romanians. A battle that had lasted over two millennia and had accounted for the losses of too many beloved members of the Volturi, including my mate's sister and my other mate's _wife._

Our Coven would not allow them to live any longer, not after everything that they had done.

**_They have no idea that you are coming. They do not even know that you are gifted. Word of your gift is muddled, as most of the vampire world hates the Romanians and are unwilling to speak of your gift. Vladimir has someone named Ward that can throw off Demetri. If you kill him, you can kill Vladimir._ ** _What about Stefan?_ **_Aro will have his chance and he will use it wisely. Do not tell him._ ** _Okay._

"Come here, tesoro, close your eyes and _hold on_ ," I listen and jump on him, purring into his chest. It was more to comfort myself rather than a show of my happiness, which was basically nonexistent due to the impending destruction of many people.

When Marcus started to run across the water, it felt like we were floating. The water underneath us could be heard rippling, but never allowing us to fall through, like Marcus had somehow learned to bend it to his will. The wind soared through my hair as I heard some of the guard cheering, causing Jane to yell at them to shut up. We were lucky that most of the humans that you could find out here were not out today, as that could cause a huge problem. We couldn't risk our exposure, even if it meant that we would have to take the _long_ way.

After a few minutes of running, Marcus and likely the rest of the guard had stopped. "Open up your eyes, tesoro," Marcus pats my head.

Doing as he says, I open up my eyes, finding myself immersed by the hills and mountains that littered the Romanian countryside. There were no cities, just rolling hills and beautiful trees. The grass was a bright green, a sign of the lack of human contact with it. Birds chirped all around, scurrying away. _None of the wildlife seem to like humans or vampires._ ** _We are predators, Anna._** _You're right. I guess they have every right to fear us._ ** _They don't get that we aren't the Cullens._** _Damn, the Cullens._

Before I could continue the conversation, Marcus had started to run through the hills, speeding through any brush that he came across. Closing my eyes once again, I allowed Marcus to take me to one of their bases. Demetri had done his best and had found out where the immortal children were being held.

**_No newborns in here. We are still in the clear. One of their women, Tyra, is taking care of the children. She has a strong bond with all of them. Take her out before taking out the children._ **

"Any new information?" Marcus asks.

"No newborns, only immortal children. They have a _mother_ in there. Maeve says to kill her first," my mate nods, putting me down on the ground. The two of us watched as three immortal children walked out of the building, their skin glowing in the sun, much like ours was. _This is dangerous. They can't just be out in the open! We need to get in there before any humans show up and find out the secret._

Tyra followed her _children_ out, wandering with them, humming a lullaby. _God, what kind of person would do this to a child? What did the kids do? Live? I get that they are kind of cute, but they can't age! They won't be able to grow and mature like a kid. That's the whole point of being a mother, to watch your children grow and raise them to be responsible adults._

"Is that the mother?" I nod, taking Marcus' hand and speeding behind the building, making sure that she couldn't see us coming. We both had lighters to start the fire that would be her inevitable demise. The crimes that she had committed were too great.

 ** _This is your chance, Anna,_** ** _take it._** I listened to Maeve, who had never been wrong before, and sped up behind her, pinning her head to the ground. She screamed before I ripped her head clean off, her body falling to the ground. Quickly, Marcus joined me, taking off the rest of her limbs.

 _Any more mothers?_ ** _No, they could only have one. The children wouldn't accept more than one mother._** _Good, I don't want to deal with that bullshittery anymore._ ** _Aro has killed over half of the Romanians and their allies. They were not expecting_** ** _visitors._** _Good on him to be honest._

"You go inside and gather the children. Jane and Alec have offered to kill them. I know how you feel about the whole _killing kids_ thing," Marcus consoles my inner conscience. I nod, going inside.

Small laughs could be heard from inside the compound. They had made so _many._ How they had kept all of these bloodthirsty things alive was beyond me. All of their giggles haunted me, knowing that I was bringing them to their death just felt _wrong_ , even if what I was doing was _right._

A few of the children came out of their rooms, bloody smiles on their faces. I smiled back at them. "Hey sweeties, your mommy needed to go and do some work so she sent me to go play with you outside," I lied. The pain in my chest increased. I was happy that I was unable to cry as an immortal because if I were still human I would have been sobbing on the floor.

Then again, if I were still human, these kids would have already killed me.

"Yay! Play time! Play time!" A blonde girl cheered, a younger boy cheered along with her, holding her hand. _This is so messed up, but it has to be done._ ** _Don't feel so guilty. These kids won't understand the concept of death. They lose their memories when they turn and are sheltered. Jane will make sure that they do not suffer._**

Nothing that Maeve said could calm the agony that made me want to run and hide from these children. They didn't deserve this. They should have been allowed to be _human children_ who got to _grow up._

It just proved how monsterous the Romanians really were, to create these children.

Leading the children outside, Marcus had already created the fire. Many small children ran outside, running around the fire and happily holding hands with each other. I looked away as Jane arrived at the scene.

"Mother, do not be sad," Jane tried to console me. Their mother had already been burned and now my own soul daughter was here.

"Oooh! Pretty lady! Nice lady is your _momma?_ " One of the children asked. He looked to be about five years old and had a head of red curls.

"Yes, child, she is my Momma. She is a very good Momma and always lets my twin and I train with her. Her mate is our coven leader," Jane tries to hold the children's attention so that she could throw them all in the fire. "We should play a game."

"What kind of game, Jane?" Marcus asks, giving me a knowing look. I fake a smile and wave goodby to the children, walking into the building. I would have to make sure that no other children were hiding about. I also needed an excuse to miss the immortal children's deaths. I couldn't live with myself if I watched them _die._

The halls of the compound were paved in _blood_ and _gore_ from the immortal children and their insatiable thirst for human blood. Too many men and women had already been slaughtered by them. How the Volturi didn't figure out about this sooner was beyond me. From what it looked like, this place had been inhabited for years.

 _Nothing, not a single immortal child. There were so many outside. I guess they just follow each other around like some sort of twisted family, wanting to play games with any adult vampires they come across. I can see how people would want these kids, but doing that to a child is just...it's just so wrong. How could someone do something like this when they know that immortal children are illegal? That they could and would slaughter entire villages? It just doesn't make any sense anymore. Do people just not have consciences anymore?_  
While I trailed the now abandoned halls of the compound, I came across a list of names. _Names of the children_ that Jane was killing outside. Luckily, they were not screaming or crying. Hopefully they had died a peaceful death.

 ** _Go into the infirmary, Anna._** I turn around before realizing that it was in fact Maeve who was speaking to me. _What do you mean, go to the infirmary? Are there more immortal children? Why didn't you tell me that?_ ** _No, there are no more immortal children, but you need to go to the infirmary in here. I promise that it will be worth it._** _Tell me what you have planned, Maeve. Don't be secretive with me right now._ ** _I would not be secretive if it were not for your own good. Please, just listen to me before it starts._**

Before I could question Maeve further, I heard a small crash down the hall. _Right at the infirmary._ Rearing my head towards the door, I could hear the faint beat of a heart.

That was, until I heard the bloodcurdling scream that came from inside.


	27. Helios, Old God of the Sun

Rushing my body to the infirmary, I was hit with the dangerous smell of human blood. Holding my breath, I come into the room, watching as a woman screams in agony on a hospital bed. Scrambling to her side, I make sure to not do anything that would harm her.

What was quite alarming about her presence was not just her _blood_ , but her very _pregnant_ belly. _What the hell is this? Why did they have a pregnant woman in a damn house full of immortal children? Are they fucking breeding her for children or something?_

Her shrieks set me off as I had to hold myself against the wall, my newborn instincts fighting with my own morality. I couldn't _feed_ off of a pregnant woman, who was shrieking bloody murder inside of the infirmary.

"Please, please," she pleaded, "I didn't want this to happen." Taking in one breath, I stay close to the wall, not wanting to do anything to hurt her or her future child. "I'm not-please help my baby. If not me-help my baby."

I looked to her belly, where a hand started to protrude. _It was the hand of a fucking child that looked ready to get its ass out of home base._ I nodded my head, but had to start holding my breath once more.

She was about to give birth and I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing. I wasn't Carlisle, I didn't have the kind of control needed to help a woman perform _childbirth._ I was a _newborn_ vampire with _decent_ control. My control was still in development, I couldn't even turn someone if my own life depended on it.

"You're one of them, I know-" she yelps, "He was one of them as well. I just-I didn't know that this was going to happen to me."

 _Maeve, please. Please fucking tell me what the hell is going on here. Or at least tell me how the hell I am going to get through this. I don't understand. I don't get it. Something is wrong with her. She smells human, but something is just so wrong._ Maeve didn't answer me, staying quiet inside of my mind. _Who is "he"? Please._

Before Maeve could even get the chance to respond the woman starts to scream again. This time, however, my mate rushes inside of the room.

Marcus stared at the woman who was about to give birth, eyes black. His movements were more controlled than mine, walking up to the woman with ease and asking her a simple question, "Who are you?"

"Lana," she answers quickly, "Please, the baby is-coming. It's going to kill me. That's okay, just please, save him. Save my baby, please."

"What do you mean _you're going to die?_ Childbirth does not usually kill women. Not anymore," Marcus' face turns frantic as the woman starts to cry and laugh at the same time, clutching one of the sides of the bed, crying out as she is forced to push. I growl as I see blood pool around her. She was going to _bleed out._

"The father," she whispers, "He was one of them. One of the _vampires_."

Marcus steps back before shaking his head. _Vampires cannot procreate. Vampires can't have kids. They aren't-They can't. We're dead. We are all dead. How? How?_ My internal conflict gets stopped by Marcus, who growls as he has to hit the wall beside me, forcing himself away from the bleeding woman. Even if he did have control, this was proving to be too much for him, his eyes turned black. **_You have to help her, Anna. Marcus will not be able to do it, but I know that you can. You wouldn't hurt her in her dying moments. She will die, but she trusts you two. She trusts you two with the one thing she holds dear._**

Maeve's cryptic words slip past me as I slide over to her side, trying my best to think about the _baby_ and not the _blood._ I had to help the _baby_.

"Take my hand," I say, knowing what was to come. This frail, already dead looking woman, was going to _die_ before she even got a chance to see her _child._ What pained me more than the sight of the blood was the thought of dying without even being able to see your own _baby._ Even being immortal, I knew how much love and motherly instinct that I felt with Jane and Alec, how I would do everything and anything for them. This woman was willing to _die_ for her child, to _die_ without seeing him, if it meant that he would get a chance to _live._

"Take my baby with you," Lana orders, "Take my baby with you and give them a good life. Please, I can die happy if you give them a good life. I just want him to be _happy._ I would give him the _sun_ if it meant he would be happy."

"I promise," I give her my word. She smiles and starts to cry.

"Who-Who are you?" She asks, tears streaming down her face.

"Annalise Volturi, Queen of the Volturi," she smiles. I point to Marcus, "That is one of my mates. His name-His name is Marcus."

"Just," her voice was just a low whisper, "Give my baby all the love that I couldn't give."

At that, I heard as her heart stopped beating, her life completely gone. _I couldn't even...tell her that I would..._

The baby wasn't even _out_ of her, still trapped inside. I could hear a fluttering of a heartbeat, not like his now dead mother's. No, this heartbeat was like that of a butterfly, fast and beautiful in its own right. Taking a step back from the scene, I watch as a small baby falls out of his mother, bloody and almost paper white.

I rushed over to him, picking him up in my arms, making sure that he wasn't hurt in any way. Holding him in my arms, he looks up at me, giving me a wide eyed look. I pulled my cloak over him, keeping him warm. His skin was paper white like that of a vampire, but it was warm to the touch. His eyes were just like that of his mother, brown with hints of gold.

A rough dry sob escaped my lips as he huddled into my arms, his mother's body still on the bed. Lana's face was turned to a smile as she lay there, peaceful in her own death. _She knew she was going to die. She knew...she just wanted her baby safe. She wanted to give him everything that she had...even her own life..._

"Tesoro," Marcus got himself together as I stood there in front of the bed, tears that could never fall swelling in my eyes. "The child-"

"Is not an immortal child," I snapped at my mate. I sniffled as the baby boy grabbed onto my cloak, pulling it into his mouth. The sobs couldn't escape my lips again as I looked down at his happy little face.

"I was not going to say that, Anna," Marcus takes a step towards me, his eyes pinned on the child. My mate lets out a deep breath. "We have never seen such a creature."

"Do not call him a _creature,_ " I snap again, holding the baby up to my own dead heart, allowing him to feel my embrace. "He is a _baby_. I promised her that I would keep him _safe_ and _happy._ "

"Anna, please, I am not suggesting anything otherwise," I take my eyes off of the brown-eyed baby boy to look at my mate, whose face and stance had softened as he looked at the child in my arms. "What are we going to do with him?"

"What kind of a question is that?" I seethe, "We are going to _raise_ him just like she wanted us to. I am going to give him _all the love in the world_ because he deserves-" I stopped my sentence as my baby boy let out a small coo, nuzzling his head into my chest. Taking his hand, I put it on my chest, allowing me to almost feel the warmth that was coming off of him. "He's warm."

"What?" Marcus questions, quickly moving to my side. I snarl as he tries to touch my baby. "Tesoro, please, I am not going to hurt him."

I gave him a glare but allowed him to touch his face. My mate let out a gasp and moved away after feeling his face. "I told you that he was warm. We need to get out of here," I hiked up the baby as I felt a strong pull through the mating bond.

**_Aro and Caius are coming. Jane told them that Marcus went running in. They smell the blood, Anna. Keep the baby safe. They won't do anything to him once they see you go momma bear with him._ **

Just like Maeve said, Aro and Caius both came barreling through the door, tearing it down. I hissed as my baby started to get fussy with all of the noise that my other two mates were making. _You fucking idiots!_

"Il mio amore-" Aro is about to embrace me, but takes a _sniff_ of the room and looks at the little bump underneath my coat from where the baby was on my chest.

"What the _hell_ is under your coat?" Caius deadpans, mouth agape as he looks at Lara's body on the table. "What the _hell_ happened in here?"

Marcus puts himself in between us, trying to protect me from their questioning. They would think that the baby was an _immortal child_ , which he wasn't. He was just a very strange baby. "Aro, Caius, let us explain please."

"Marcus, is that a _baby_?" Aro questions his brother before looking over to me. I scooch back, keeping the baby under my protective cover. I let out a growl as Caius tried to walk closer to me. My blonde mate almost whimpered at the sign of aggression on my part. I looked down, my inner vampire upset that I had hurt his feelings. I knew that I would have to protect the baby. My main goal would always be to protect my new baby.

"Im-" before Caius could even say the words Marcus cut him off.

"He _isn't_ an immortal child, Caius. His _mother_ ," Marcus pointed to where Lana was, "Said that his father was a _vampire._ I don't know _how_ or _what_ he is but he isn't fully _immortal_ or _mortal._ I mean, he's _warm._ You can hear his _heartbeat_."

Caius lets out a huff, "We are infertile, Marcus. This is not possible. It is either mortal or immortal."

" _Shut the fuck up and listen to me, Caius,_ " all of my mates let out a hiss at my tone of voice. "I don't frankly give a _shit_ what you _know_ about our species. I promised _her_ that I would keep her baby _safe._ He is _warm_ , he is _paper white,_ and he is _mine._ He is coming home with us and he is going to be _mine_ for as long as he lives, happily."

"Anna," Aro takes another step towards me, even when I snarl at him, "Can I see him? Can we see him?"

Even if I didn't want to let him anywhere near my baby at this point, I nodded, moving my cloak out of the way so that he could see his little face. The boy didn't look like he was a few minutes old. In fact, he looked like he had to be at least a week old already. I didn't open him up too much, making sure that he was almost completely covered still. I wasn't ready to put him down just yet.

My raven-haired mate touches his face, causing the boy to let out a coo. "Remarkable."

"Aro," Caius tried to get the attention of his brother, "This _baby_ does not _smell right._ "

"He is both human and vampire," Aro determines, "Do you not see his skin? His eyes are _brown_ and his skin is like ours. _Such a sweet little thing, you are. So handsome._ "

I smile as my mate kisses the boy's head, a sign of acceptance from him. Caius lets out a sign and comes up to the baby and I, still unsure of what to make of the whole situation. Slowly, my blonde mate puts his hand to the baby's face. As their skin touches, he pulls back, his face now fearful as he takes a step back.

"Caius," I whisper, "He won't hurt you. He's a baby."

My mate lets out a quick breath of air before coming back up to the child, his eyes still showing just how _terrified_ he was of the baby in my arms. **_He doesn't want to screw it up and hurt the baby, Anna. He doesn't want to hurt you._**

"Such a tiny thing," he mutters, "Where would we even get information on what you are?" Caius bends over and kisses the baby's head before coming up and kissing my head. "What are we going to do with him, cara mia? To keep a _hybrid_ in the castle..."

"We can make it work, my mate," I smile at him. Marcus takes his chance and kisses the boy's head himself, even if he had already voiced his acceptance of the small child. He just looked so _peaceful_ in my arms, cooing every time someone would give him even a hint of affection.

"What are we going to tell the guards? The world?" Aro asks everyone in the room. "Do we just come out of here with a hybrid baby and no explanations? We....we killed all of the Romanians that could have impregnated the human woman."

I frowned at the reminder that this woman had likely been _forced_ to conceive this child, that his father was a bad man with a group of evil people. _People are not who they are born from. He can be good. He's a baby. A really sweet and good baby._

"We tell the world nothing," my mates look relieved, "We tell the guard _everything_. We are a _family_. This baby coming into our family means that the guards now have a _baby brother._ To keep that from them is not only bad parenting on our part, but they would not trust us anymore once they found out. The world does not need to know yet. These children could exist elsewhere, in other places that we have not found out about yet, hidden in their own covens. It really doesn't matter."

"A name," Caius realizes, "We can't just call the baby _the baby_ forever. The little one needs a name. Lord, I never thought that I would be doing this."

"I didn't think I would be becoming a father today," Aro mutters. "Or ever, for that matter."

"We have never raised _children_ , only young vampires," Marcus realizes, "I suppose there are no books on how to raise hybrid children. No _how to pick your hybrid baby's name after that responsibility gets dropped on you?_ "

"Very funny, you three. It is true, he needs a name," I rub my new son's back as he giggles at me.

"You are the mother," Caius points out, "You pick the name. As long as it is not abhorrent and is fit for a prince, I am fine."

"The first prince of the Volturi," Aro laughs. "What kind of name could your mother give you?"

"She would give him the _sun_ ," I remember what she said to me. Marcus lets out a sad laugh at the memory. "With you, the people that they used to call gods-" I stop.

"Cara mia, are you alright-" I nod, cutting Caius off.

"His name will be Helios, like the old god of the sun. Your mother would give the sun to you, so I shall honor her in your name."


	28. New Baby Volturi

Time alone with our new baby was cut short when our own daughter came running into the room, ready to fight whatever she thought was keeping us in here for so long. The look on Jane's face when she realized that we were all fine and dandy was memorable.

The true priceless expression came when she took her first look at her new baby brother. "What the fuck is that fucking fuck of a baby-"

"Jane," Marcus looks at the vampire girl, "It's the excessive use of profanity for me."

My soul daughter stares at Helios, who was huddled in my arms, quite happy to be held and have Aro cooing at him. Caius was still almost as shocked as Jane was, not really knowing how to react to the fact that in the span of a few minutes he had become a father to a hybrid child that he had no idea would be able to even exist.

"Mother," my soul daughter turns her head up to me, "Why does it smell weird?"

"Helios smells _weird_ because he is half human and half vampire," I try to explain. My daughter just opens her mouth, about to object to such a statement, but Marcus and Caius just shake their heads at her. "He's so cute, isn't he? Come, Jane, say hello to your new baby brother."

Taking a few steps forward, Jane looks down at her brother, taking in the fact that she just became a sister to yet another little man. My daughter places her cold hand on Helios' warm cheek and lets out a whine of terror, taking a few more steps back. At that moment, her twin had walked into the room, much calmer in his stance.

"Sister what is wrong-" he cut himself off once he saw Helios, who pointed at him and cooed, causing Alec to take a small step back. "Mom, why are you holding a _baby_?"

"We found out something really cool today," I informed him. "Male vampires _can_ impregnate women, but only human women. Unfortunately, his biological mother," I point to Lana's dead body, "died giving birth to him. It was bad. There was blood _everywhere_. I don't even know how I survived the ordeal. Anyways, out pops this lil' man and now he's mine."

"It really was brutal," Marcus mutters, eyes darkening at the thought of all of the blood on the bed and the floor.

Alec takes a single step forward, looking more intently at Helios, who just smiled and giggled at him, causing my son to give a small smile at the baby. With much less fear than his twin, Alec walks up to his brother and rubs his exposed head, actually letting out a laugh at the warmth that he was letting off.

God, I would keep him wrapped around me forever if I could.

"What are you going to do, mother? The guard will want to know about a _little hybrid prince_ running around the castle. I mean, the fact that he _isn't_ an immortal child is important for them to know," I sigh at Alec's question.

"Where is everyone right now?" I ask.

"Outside, waiting for us all to come out. No doubt in my mind that someone is going to come in if we don't get out here fast enough," Alec tells us.

"Come along, then. We need to see what happens when his skin meets the sun anyways," Caius grumbles, opening the infirmary doors back up. "I'll have someone bury her body so that it doesn't look suspicious."

I mouthed a _thank you_ to my mate before propping the baby up on my chest, allowing him to see around the hallways as we walked down them. His eyes were filled with curiosity and wonder, cooing everytime someone would even give him an ounce of attention. While the hallways seemed much darker than before, I was able to pull myself to the outside.

There waiting were the coven members that we had brought with us to the battle. The entirety of the guard and their mates, as they could not be so far away from them and be comfortable, stood around the remains of the fire they had put out. Most of them were irked and one of them even growled about how they had just put out the fire for the Immortal Children. I huffed, knowing that Helios was far from an Immortal Child.

"The hell is that smell, dude?" Santiago questions everyone, sniffing the air for what I assumed to be Helios. "Doesn't smell normal 'round here anymore."

"My queen, you do not need to deal with the immortal child yourself, one of us can do it for you," Demetri suggests the unthinkable. I growl and go to the front of the group of my covenmates. Taking a deep breath, I tell them how it was, plain and simple.

"This child is not an immortal child and will _never_ be destroyed by _anyone_ , do you _understand_?" The guard and company slowly nod their heads. "I would like to introduce the first _vampire-human_ _hybrid_ the Volturi has ever seen. Yes, it is possible."

"We are _dead_ , Anna," Demetri deadpans.

"Yeah, well I do hope that you aren't planning on sleeping with any human women, Demetri, cause you could end up with one of _these_ little cuties. No vampire man in this coven is to sleep with a human woman anymore. Yes, I do get that like _none of you_ were planning on doing that, but it had to be said. Maeve and the original mother have confirmed this information, so nobody here is to deny the facts," the guards just nod their heads, eyes focusing in on Helios, who smiled at all of them from my chest, turning his head back so he could properly see anyone.

When I finally stepped into a place of sun, I could see his skin start to light up. His diamond skin was nothing like what I was used to from vampires, less bright and more glitter-like than any in my coven. His light even looked a little bit _pink_ from the blood that likely ran through his veins.

I allowed my son to continue to look around at the guards that would become his friends and family. He would be their prince. The title did sound like a lot for the little boy, but he looked like a happy little thing that could bring out joy in anyone.

"Helios is our son now," Aro announced, "I do hope that you will show him the same love and care that you would show everyone else in the coven. I do not know what he will grow up to be, but it seems that he is _growing_ , even with only being alive for about two hours."

"What would the world think of him?" Felix asks. "We will love him, but the rest of the world may not be so inclined with the fact that he is _technically_ still a _child_. Half mortal or not, some will not see this as a good thing."

"Telling the world about the prince will not happen until we _need_ it to happen. Our halls are known for being secretive. Nobody really knows how many people are in this coven or what gifts the guards have. I do believe that keeping this a secret until further notice should not be so hard. I mean, who _really_ comes to the castle? People we execute may be able to get a _glimpse_ of him, but they would be dead before they get the _chance_ to tell anyone about it," Aro confirms what I had previously wanted.

Keeping Helios a secret from the world would mean keeping him a secret from people like Rose and Jasper. It would hurt them, not knowing that I had adopted a son, but the truth was that Edward and Bella could not be trusted with the knowledge of hybrid creation. They could try it without even considering that Bella could _die._

Part of me thought that if they did know, Edward would say no and Bella would do something to get herself pregnant. She just seems like the kind of woman who would do that to herself. Reckless and moronic, she is.

"Life will be _different_ around the castle, but it will be worth it in the end," Marcus adds. "This could be the best thing that has ever happened to us. For thousands of years, we have all thought that we would be nothing more than a family who punishes the vampires of the world. Now, we have the ability to be a parent and sibling to a child that we can not accidentally hurt, of a child that can grow up while still having the same characteristics as us."

Most of the guards had grins on their faces at the thought of being a _sibling_. A few of them were siblings to one another, whether biological or soul. The people that had no siblings in their human life or just did not remember if they had siblings or not because of Immortal long term memory loss could have a small child that they could prank and do all the things that siblings did with each other.

"We should get going," Caius comes back to the group, looking at Helios with the same shocked expression as before. "Anna, let Aro have Helios, I need to carry you across the water."

I let out a whine of protest, not wanting to give up my son. _Why can't he just stay in my arms forever? Would that be such a bad thing?_

Walking over to Aro, I hand him the naked baby boy. My mate almost swoons as he holds the baby under his coat, kissing his head sweetly. Helios giggles at his father, his voice high and infantile. My mate took in a deep breath and giggled at him, that weird giggle that he gives the criminals when he wants to scare them. Although, Helios isn't scared, just giggling along with him.

Giving my son one last look, I jumped up on Caius, causing him to stumble a bit as he tried to hold my weight on him, caught off guard.

The rest of the guard ran out to the edge of the water, waiting for us there, knowing that we would likely have to have a moment alone.

"So, a _baby_ now, cara mia?" Caius asks, kissing my head. "I come back from _battle_ and I find you holding a little strange child with the brightest brown eyes I have ever seen."

"I know you love it, il mio re, you just have too much _pride_ to say so. Don't be so shocked and scared, Helios is a good boy and probably won't _bite you_ ," I tease.

"He could. I hope he isn't venomous. Those bites are just the _worst_ sometimes," My blonde mate whines, "The child is _cute_."

"Where do we keep the little one, Annalise? What kind of crib would we buy a _prince_? He must have the best in the land. I would never accept anything less for my own _son_." I laugh at Caius' vanity, something that had become something like a comedy in my eyes. The way that he would tend to his hair, his clothes, and most importantly, his room and our nest. I was sure that it would be messy due to Aro, but Caius had kept it in order.

"Do we have any people that would know about _anything_ having to do with hybrids and their potential growth cycles?" I ask desperately, wanting to know just how long my baby would stay a baby.

"Don't ask me, I have zero clue what I'm doing over here. No person I have met has been interested in the potentials of a halfling. I myself have never even thought over the idea. We are supposed to be _undead_ ," I nod, knowing that he was right. Nobody really would know about this. How the Romanians found out would remain a mystery.

"We can do this. I know that we can do this. Being parents to a little cute hybrid can't be that bad," I try to lighten the mood.

"Just keep him happy in the nest and we will be fine, mia regina."


	29. Happy Babies Get Snuggles

By the time that we had come back home it was sunset. No trials would be held for over a week in the Volturi castle. All criminals would be held in the dungeons to await their trials. Our allies were also notified that we would be closing our doors for a month or two to give everyone some time to relax and calm down after the extreme battle that the guard had fought. While nobody was permanently lost, many guard members had their limbs detached and some even had their heads torn off. The entire battle could have gone so much worse. I should be more grateful that the Romanians didn't find a way to kill anyone. I don't know what I would do without Demetri. Or Renata. Or _Corin_. Or _Felix._

The second that I got on land I leaped out of Caius' arms and ran to Aro, who was holding Helios in his arms, making sure that he was warm and comfortable, which to my relief he was just that. Letting out a shocked whine, Aro allowed me to take Helios from his arms. My mate whined, wanting more time with his son before his mate scooped him up.

"Il mio amore, I want to hold him as well," my raven-haired mate tried to plead with me. I shook my head, moving towards the castle. Both Marcus and Caius laughed behind me, quite amused that I had taken away my baby from my own mate. "Would you please let me hold him before he gets big?"

I shrug, finding myself ignoring his cries of protest behind me. I smirked as Helios grabbed at my hair, putting it in his mouth, biting at it. Unfortunately, I could smell the venom leaking out of his teeth, proving that he did in fact have venom coming through those baby teeth of his. Sighing, I take my brunette hair out of his mouth, causing Helios to fuss slightly, wriggling in my arms, trying to find food or something else to put in his mouth.

"Helios, please wait until I can get you a blood bag or even human food. Amore, I promise that food will be on the way," Helios looks up at me, giggling at the promise of food. "I hope that you understand me and become some sort of super baby. Hell, maybe Daddy Aro can hear your thoughts when he holds you."

My son coos up at me, hitting his little baby hands at my chest before letting out a loud yawn. _So you wanna eat and sleep, baby? We can do that._ Rubbing his cheek, I race him to the kitchens, where a few of the human workers let out screams of terror when they take a look at Helios.

"He won't hurt you, humans, I promise. I need a blood bag. No, he isn't one of the immortal children that you have heard so much about," I explain. One worker nods his head and goes to the back room, bringing back an O+ blood bag upon his return. "Thank you."

"Of course, my queen," he says politely.

Taking a sip of the blood bag myself, I ran Helios and I back to my mates and I's nest, the place that would familiarize my son with our scent, as it was all over the place. Just the way I remembered, I sat down on one of our couches and held the blood bag to Helios' lips.

My son let out a coo and almost held up the bag by himself, taking big gulps of the red liquid, nearly spilling the bag on himself. Once he had finished the entire bag, he looked up at me, some blood running down his chin. I take my finger and wipe it back into his mouth. The young prince giggled and fell back onto me, hugging my chest.

I let out a hum as I watched Helios fall asleep on my chest. _I guess if you're only half immortal, you can enjoy the prospects of falling asleep on your mommy as well as drink blood. I mean, I wouldn't complain, little Helios, you are the sweetest little thing I have ever seen._ ** _Mates incoming._** _Oh, so now you decide to show up, Maeve?_ ** _Yeah, bitch, I'm here and I... I am here and I am trying to tell you that your mates are quite happy with themselves and are ready to see you now._** _What were you about to say?_ ** _Nothin'._**

 ****"Cara mia," my blonde mate rushes over to the couch, "What happened to Helios? Why is he just _there_?"

"Darling, calm down, baby is _asleep._ Also, venomous. Also, really liked that blood bag I gave him," Caius groans at the idea that the young prince could give him a permanent scar if he bit him during a tantrum. "He can't help the venom in his mouth, Caius."

"I _know_ , amore," He whines, "But I just don't want to get _bit_ by him when he eventually gets mad at me for something. I have seen my fair share of vampire bites and none of them look pretty."

"No, bites are not the best experience in the world, but they are also not the _worst._ As I remember, brother, you have been decapitated over five times in your vampire life. I will note that the experience of decapitation is much worse. The recovery," Marcus pauses before continuing again, "Is _horrendous._ "

All three of my mates shiver at the thought. **_Aro has decapitated Marcus before, once on accident and once because Marcus asked him to._** _Why the hell would my mate want to be decapitated?_ ** _He just wanted to put the cripple back in crippling depression._** _Oh. Oh thats just-my poor baby._

"Are you going to stay with our child here for the rest of the night?" Aro asks.

"Of course. Stay with me. We can all swoon over Helios and watch a movie. I don't think he's going to be getting off of me for a while. So cozy, little man."

__________________________________________________

"Tesoro, he's waking up," Marcus mumbles, watching as Helios starts to stir in my arms, his eyes suddenly opening wide. The young prince turned his head to Marcus, who smiled and kissed his little head. Helios grumbled before letting out his first real laugh. He looked so _pretty_ and his laugh was just so _cute._

"Little man," I mumble, "Do you want to snuggle here all day or what?"

All three of my mates laugh. Aro flipped the channel to something more child friendly, as before we had been watching Scream, a movie unfit for the eyes of a child only a day old. We would scar the child for life when he was older, not as a baby.

"You know, snuggles all day sound kind of nice," Marcus mumbled into my neck, kissing my jawline sweetly. "The two of you look adorable, amore."

"Such a sweet talker, brother," Caius huffs, kissing Helios' head as he watched his parents interact with curiosity. My mate kissed his cheek before running his finger on the top of the baby's head, making Helios let out fits of giggles.

Even at a day old, he was progressing so much faster than any normal child. He looked to be almost a month old. At this rate, he would be done aging in a few _years_ instead of almost two decades. _I just wanna know, how long do I get him before he finishes aging?_ ** _Give or take a year, seven years, Anna. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, make sure that Helios doesn't get into the cookie jars. I know he's going to love those just like every baby ever._** _Good lord, I'm going to have to stop a half vampy child from getting cookies?_ ** _Yup, darling._**

 ****"Allow me to show my love for our mate and our son, Caius, not everyone is as _callous_ as you," Marcus kisses my cheek and yelps as Helios whines out of nowhere. "Helios, my young prince, whatever is the matter?"

"He is a _baby_ , Marcus, he can't talk back, even if he could hear us," Caius reminds his brother. "Aro, do your gift for him and figure out what he wants."

"I mean," I give Aro a look, not wanting my baby to be upset, "I'll see if I can see anything."

Aro places his hand on Helios' warm cheek, his eyes glazing over as he reads the memories and thoughts of our newborn son. Pulling back, Aro places a hand on his small shoulder, giving him a smile. "I'll get you some more blood, little prince."

"I literally just fed you, little man," I pick him up off my lap and hold him up higher on my chest. "Helios, you are the sweetest little thing. I don't even care. Feed all you want. As long as you don't break laws and look so damn _cute_ I will be the happiest woman alive."

All three of my mates let out content purrs. My raven-haired mate leaves the nest to go and get Helios some more food, leaving Caius and Marcus to tend to the two of us.

"Baby, when is the crib going to come in? Or the toddler bed? He's growing so _fast,_ " I question Marcus, who shushes me and huddles into my side, cooing and playing with Helios. "Am I going to have to ask Maeve or are you going to tell me?"

**_Tomorrow, sweets. Don't be fussy at 2 AM in the morning._ ** _Bitch, I don't sleep._ **_I don't give a fuck, lemme have some time to sort through what I need to._ ** _You're literally a fucking voice in my head, what do you need to sort out?_ **_My sanity, my existence, my reason to live._ ** _You're even more dramatic than my mates._ **_I know, it's a fact._ **

I groan as I stop listening to what Maeve was saying, allowing her voice to get drowned out by the other sounds in the room.

"Cara mia," Caius whines, "I wanna snuggle with you as well."

"Get over here, you whiny baby," Caius growls at the nickname but still huddles on the other side of my body, opposite to where Marcus was already curled up. "You all are single handedly the second, third, and fourth most dramatic people on the planet."

"Who could possibly be number one?" Marcus mumbles.

"Maeve. She said so herself. Went off about needing to sort out her life choices. _What life choices, Maeve? What possible life choices could you have made?_ " **_That is for me to know and for you to guess at, my queen._** _Stop, tell me._ ** _No._** _Must you always be like this?_ ** _Yes._** _One word answers now._ ** _Maybe._** _Fuck you, Maeve._ ** _I mean, I am in your head, you could just fuck yourself._** _You sneaky bitch._ ** _Hehehe._**

I shudder at Maeve's creepy laughter inside of my head. Aro comes back into the room.

"No spot for me?" He asks sadly.

"No," Caius and Marcus say in unison.

"So mean," Aro whines, giving Helios the blood bag. The young boy drank it all up as quickly as he could, letting out a coo at the end as he dropped the bag on my chest. I sigh, picking it up and putting it down on the end table. "He really does like human blood, doesn't he?"

"He needs it to _grow_ and be a big and strong lil' man," I coo, wiping all of the blood he had spilled from his face and putting it back in his mouth, not wanting him to waste any of his meal. Helios cooed back at me, putting his hand on my face, squeezing my cold cheek. I let out a happy cry and picked him up from my chest, nuzzling our noses together. "My best lil' man."

"He loves you, Anna," Marcus chuckles.

"Awwwww, I love you too, my sweet sunny boy," I put him back down on me before looking at Marcus, "I love you, Marcus. And you Aro and Caius. You are not being left out of my unyielding love."

"We love you too, Anna."


	30. Suggestions for Change

The next day had been one of great joy for the entire Volturi. While so many vampires were waiting for their trials, we allowed ourselves to have some alone time with the new baby, giving him a chance to get to know his new siblings. All of our Coven opened up to the prospects of having a little one running around the castle. They might have picked up on the fact that Aro and Marcus could not get their slimy little hands off of the baby as well.

Upsetting the two of them would mean destruction.

"So are you going to just sit there and hold your brother or are you going to _help_?" Caius sneers at Jane, who was happily holding Helios, who was very much happy to be held by her. The blonde girl gave Caius a bitchy look before nodding. My blonde mate growls and storms off to some unknown place. Oh, who was I kidding, he was probably going to cool down in the nest. Just the usual in the Volturi household.

"Is he going to keep on denying the fact that he loves Helios or is he going to start to cuddle him like you and dad do?" Alec asks from the other corner of the room, bringing his sister and Helios blood bags. The two of them drink up, both thanking him in their own ways.

"Most likely the first option for the next few hours and after that the second. He can't deny that his son is the cutest thing that has ever come into existence," I silently swoon as Helios waves his hands at me, almost as if he was trying to call me over to him.

"That is impossible, tesoro, you exist. Two cannot be at the top," Marcus argues, speeding to my side, handing me a letter.

"Who is still sending me letters?" I question.

"Likely Carlisle. He always sends letters. I don't think the man will ever truly get used to just _calling_ us when he wants to speak," Marcus says.

I opened up the message, which was in fact addressed to me, from Carlisle. _Does he always write the Volturi in Italian? Is this going to be the norm?_ ** _Likely._** _Can't you give me a clear cut answer on this one?_ ** _Nothing is clear cut when it comes to the future._** _You sound like Alice now._ ** _Don't compare me to her._** _Okay then, oh pushy one._

_To my dearest Queen,_

_I would like to formally apologize for the actions of my son and sired, Edward Cullen. I will be forever grateful to you and your mate, our king, for not choosing to kill him for his treasonous act. While our relations may be strained at the moment, I do hope that things will be better in the future. I would not wish to see any more secrets between us._

_For the longest time I have wished to meet a person such as yourself. Even through everything, you have powered through. No, this is not me filling your ego in order to save my own skin. I am just afraid that the harsh words that Edward has spoken to you, while untrue, could someday hit you emotionally the way that you hit him in the face._

_This may be unprofessional of me, but good job on putting him in his place better than I ever could. I do believe that you have given him better discipline than myself. I will work with him on respect when I get the chance._

_I know that you know about the wedding. They are refusing to even send a letter to inform you of the occasion, claiming that you could somehow show up and ruin the entire event. These ideas are ridiculous and baseless. You have much better things to do than going to the wedding of people that have spoken so ill on your behalf. I know that you have mates to tend to and a world to run._

_Alice did say that she saw something that did relate to you, but did not actually feature you. She says that she saw a few of the guards holding a crown. Neither I or she have any idea of what that means._

_I would not wish to impose, but have the kings perhaps proposed marriage or your official coronation? They have not had a coronation since they coronated themselves over two thousand years ago._

_I do wish that your time in Volterra has been spent happily and with people that you care about._

_Always good regards,_

_Carlisle Cullen_

I laugh at the question placed in the letter. _Marriage, Carlisle? I mean, the answer is no, but I would say that I have no idea if they are planning anything. Maeve, please?_ ** _Don't ask me._** _That wasn't a yes or a no._ ** _It was me telling you to fuck off but like take it as you will._** _Don't be mean, Maeve._ ** _Sorry, your mind is just filled with stupidly happy coos right now and I have no clue how to shut it all off._** _Well figure out how to work my mind because I can't do it myself._

Marcus takes a peek at the letter and laughs awkwardly.

"I don't think I've ever seen Carlisle act so _boldly_ in the time that I have known him. Though, it should just mean that he is comfortable around you. Your bond is quite strong with him," Marcus informs.

"Honestly, I don't think he's ever been so bold with me either. Must be the pressure of the wedding, Carlisle doesn't bud into people's business," I suggest. Marcus nods, taking the letter, putting it back inside the envelope. "He doesn't want any _secrets_ , yet we have so many right now."

"He will understand the secrecy, just like you understood him. If any more of his kind are out there, they are in hiding and have not been seen by any of our own. Aro has read Carlisle, the man has no knowledge of this either. Who knows what his reaction would be if you just told him that you, as a newborn vampire, watched a woman die giving birth to a hybrid child," Marcus points out. I nod, knowing that he was right. _I just wish that it didn't have to be like this._

My mate kisses my head before walking me to our son, who was giggling like crazy with Jane and Alec. The twins hugged the baby boy and kissed his cheek before Jane picked him up and sped him over to me. I smiled at her and held my baby in my arms.

He was really the sweetest thing that I had ever seen. His happy nature could make anyone around him happy. It was unlike anything I had seen in a vampire or a human. His ability to make people happy with one look could almost be considered a gift. Although whether or not it was a gift or not would remain unknown until Maeve told me more about him and what he would grow up to be.

"Do you think that Akila and Harb can take them right now?" I ask my mate, who nods. "Although I don't want to be a bother-"

"Tesoro, they love to watch him. They did so this morning and they can again," Marcus assures me. I nod, running over to Akila's room. I could hear the nice sound of friendly chatter inside. I knock, of course, before waiting for them to open the door.

Akila came to the door and giggled when she saw that it was her turn to take care of the little munchkin in my arms. Aaron smiled as his mate cooed at Helios, giving him a grin. _Jesus, this kid is going to be the most spoiled hybrid that the world has ever seen._ ** _Most definitely the most spoiled out of all hybrids._** _Wait, so there are more hybrids?_ ** _Duh. I mean, how do you think the Romanians figured out that having sex with a human woman would work?_** _Idk, I thought they were just raping bastards who got off on that sort of shit._ ** _I mean, you aren't wrong._** _Fuck thats messed up._ ** _You can kill em later._**

 ****"Little Helios, you just are the cutest thing on the planet," Akila cooed.

"I do hope that he has the memory of a vampire and can hear you," Harb mutters from across the room, "It would be funny to remember all of the things your family did when you were a baby."

"Imagine remembering your _birth,_ " I cringed at the thought. "That would suck. I mean, he wasn't crying, but I doubt he was happy to see all the blood and gore around him."

"Let's not think about that, tesoro," Marcus urges me to stop, "It is not necessary to dwell on such things."

"No, of course not."

__________________________________________________

It would simply be _rude_ not to write a well-sized letter back to one of my favorite members of the Olympic Coven, especially when he had asked me such an interesting question. For what to write, I had to think about it for a while, going over what and how I was going to write this letter. Everything had changed, yet he knew nothing of it.

The battle with the Romanians had been broadcasted, but no vampire outside of the Volturi knew about the existence of the hybrid in our midst. Hell, no vampire that we had ever met would even know about his species being _possible._

At that, I began writing away, attempting to hold back as much information as possible without sounding rushed or rude.

_Dear Carlisle,_

_Marcus and I actually found it quite funny that you would ask such a question, as you are often one of the most non intrusive men we have ever met. Although most would find such a question odd, I should expect nothing less from Alice than to share her vision of what she saw in my future._

_Alas, no proposition of marriage has been given to me by my mates, although I would say yes if they did ask me for my hand in such a way. I think that you already know that. There will be no coronation in the near future, as we are still riding off the high of the defeat of the Romanians, a people that have broken so many laws and were trying to overthrow us, albeit terribly. I mean, who leaves the Immortal Children with no newborn guards? It was simply easy for us to go in and take out the singular woman they had in charge of those children. I would hope better from a people who did wish to lead our world into chaos. The planning was simply dreadful._

_Your apologies on behalf of your son are not necessary. Edward, although both physically and mentally 17, is an adult capable of making his own decisions. If he steps one toe out of line again, I will make sure that he meets a swift end. Even if he is your son, as you know already, he will never be above the law. In the end, nobody can be above the law, even if it means that we take out people that we once cared about._

_The fact that the seer has not already put out the idea of my arrival to the wedding between Edward and Bella is quite alarming, as them making such accusations would surely mean that Alice has seen something. No plans to interrupt the wedding on my or any of my coven's part, we just simply wish for the law to be upheld and for the girl to be turned. I know that Edward does not want her turned, but he will just have to suck it up or face the consequences._

_I do wish that I could see you again soon, but as you would know, the Volturi are a busy people and we will have backed up trials once our few weeks of rest are over. To see you happy and well with your family is what I desire most, as you have and will always be my first father figure. You deserve all of the happiness in the world, Carlisle._

_Never let anyone take away the kindness that you show others,_

_Annalise Volturi, Queen of Vampires and Queen of the Volturi_

The letter had become quite long with my large cursive handwriting, spreading out over three pages, but it was in essence quite short and quick to get to the point. Good wishes and all, my one greatest dream now had been changed from when I had last seen Carlisle.

My memories now faded and quite literally broken into small fragments, I allowed myself to close the letter with purple wax and the Volturi seal.


	31. Nestroom Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS:
> 
> Smut
> 
> ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ (ʟᴏʟ ꜱᴏʀʀʏ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴅ ɢʀᴀᴍᴍᴀʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴛᴀɴᴛ ɪᴛᴀʟɪᴀɴ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇꜱᴇ ꜰᴏᴜʀ):
> 
> Per favore, Anna mia, non intendo farti arrabbiare. Non vorrei mai turbarti, dolcezza. Please my Anna, I do not mean to upset you. I would never wish to upset you, my sweet.
> 
> Non parlare dolcemente per uscire da questo, Aro Volturi. Don't sweet talk your way out of this one, Aro Volturi.
> 
> Anna mi dispiace. Smetterò di mettere il signor Soleil in posti casuali quando Helios avrà finito con lui. Farò qualsiasi cosa, solo per favore non essere arrabbiato con me. Anna I am sorry. I will stop putting Mr. Soleil in random places when Helios is done with him. I will do anything, just please don't be upset with me.
> 
> Sei un pazzo se non mi prendi su questo. A me non importa molto, potrei semplicemente andare a prendere uno dei tuoi fratelli e fare a modo mio con loro. You are a madman if you don't take me up on this. It won't matter much to me, I could just go grab one of your brothers and have my way with them.
> 
> Mi sembri irresistibile chiamarmi così, il mio amore. You sound irresistible calling out for me like that, my love.
> 
> Mi piace quando gridi per me, mia regina. I love it when you scream for me, my queen
> 
> Per favore! Please.
> 
> Anch'io ti amo, mia regina. I love you too, my queen.

Raising a young hybrid child was everything and nothing like I expected it to be like at the same time. Young Helios, now a month old, looked to be almost three years old, running around and playing with Jane and Alec almost all day. While we had started back up the trials again, nobody had found out about the baby yet. His secret was safe and we would be able to continue raising him without any questions from other covens.

The nest had grown to chaos, not even Caius and his cleaning could fix the mess that was created in there on a daily basis, much to his displeasure. Unfortunately, Aro had decided that he would stop putting things back where I asked him to, citing that he simply didn't have time.

Jesus, it was like we weren't vampires that had all the time in the world.

"Aro, please, just put it in the right place. I can never find it when you do this!" I whine, putting down Helios' sun plushie that he had grown to love so much. _Please, just listen to your mate for once, Aro. Just this once._ ** _You tell him, girl._** _Fuck, how do I get him to listen, Maeve?_ ** _Honestly, I'm clueless on this behavior of his._** _I thought you were all knowing?_ ** _Almost all knowing, not quite._** _Damnit._

"Il mio amore, I don't have-" I cut off my mate.

"If you say that you don't have time _one more time_ , I am going to throw you out of the nest for the next three hours. I will _take Helios_ in here and make sure that I have him all to myself," it was a bitch move, but it may be the only way that I could get him to listen to me.

Aro stiffens and takes in a deep breath. "Anna, please don't steal our son and lock me out of our nest. I am sorry."

I give him a menacing look, causing him to gulp down whatever venom had been building in his mouth. "No, no you are not sorry. I keep on _telling you_ this. We remember _everything_ , which means that you have been doing this on _purpose._ "

"Per favore, Anna mia, non intendo farti arrabbiare. Non vorrei mai turbarti, dolcezza," My mate's voice now softer and much more desperate, I sigh, now annoyed that he was trying to sweet talk his way out of this when what he _really needed to do_ was fix his behavior when it came to our son's beloved toys.

"Non parlare dolcemente per uscire da questo, Aro Volturi." **_You absolute bitch. He knows you only use his last name when you're annoyed._** _Am I not annoyed, Maeve?_ ** _I mean, yeah, but this is just torture for him now._** _Just like trying to find Mr. Soleil is torture for me._ ** _This is...this is absolutely insane and I love it._** _You are a chaotic bitch as well, Maeve, you know that. The craziest thing to have in my head has and will always be you._

"Anna mi dispiace. Smetterò di mettere il signor Soleil in posti casuali quando Helios avrà finito con lui. Farò qualsiasi cosa, solo per favore non essere arrabbiato con me," my mate pleads with me. _You stupidly sweet mate. You know I can't say no to you, Aro. Aw, you look so cute begging me for forgiveness._

I hum quietly, my hand now placed sofly on his chest. All three of my mates towered over me, dominating in so many ways. Aro shifts slightly, turning his head away from me. _Aro, darling, no need to be like that._ ** _Aight imma head out now._**

"Mia regina," Aro's voice was just a whisper, almost quiet enough to not be heard by my heightened senses. "What are you doing?"

Humming again, I whisper, "It seems like I'm doing whatever I want considering that you said you would do _anything_ to appease me," I grin at him, "Do use your words better next time you plan on apologizing, you may never know what you're getting into."

"I did not know that I had to be _careful_ around my own _mate,_ " Aro's voice hitches slightly as I felt my eyes darken, "But I do think that keeping my word is important. As your king of course."

I laughed as he tried to assert more dominance, calling himself _my king_. _Don't you know that I am a dangerous woman, Aro? Your queen, your mate, and your equal, all at once? You may be the king, but I am the queen._

"Dangerous indeed," my raven-haired mate hisses under his breath. "Such powerful words from you."

"If you think," I whisper, my voice low and seductive, "For one second that you are getting away with this without giving me something, you are _absolutely wrong_."

" _Anna_ ," Aro growls.

"Aro," my sweet voice rang out in the room, building the tension that was already between us. With everyone gone, why could I not have some _fun_ with my mate? "Your word is your word, without it you would be a _liar._ "

"Do not call me a _liar_ ," my mate's voice turned to a warning as he took my hands off of his shoulders. "It is not very _kind_."

"Is it more _kind_ to _lie_ to your mate by saying that you would do _anything_ to make it up to her and then not doing it, even when you would be rewarded _greatly_ for what I have planned for you, _Aro,_ " I tease him, looking up with my now blackened eyes. "Sei un pazzo se non mi prendi su questo. A me non importa molto, potrei semplicemente andare a prendere uno dei tuoi fratelli e fare a modo mio con loro."

Thinking about me _having my way_ with one of my other mates set him alight, pulling me up into a passionate kiss. Our lips clashed, our tongues fighting for dominance. We both put up a good fight. For once, Aro was the one to give up, allowing me to push my tongue into his mouth. Taken aback by my sudden dominance, my king pulled back for a second.

I growled, not liking the fact that he had taken away _his mouth_ from me. My mate soon realizes just how _deep_ he had gotten into this, his eyes just as dark as mine. He throws me onto the bed in the nest before ripping off his own shirt, leaving it torn on the floor.

A loud growl escapes Aro's lips as he nips at my neck, causing me to shiver under his touch. _You damned heathen._ My telepathic mate chuckles and spreads my legs on the bed. I gasp, caught off guard.

"If I must be a _heathen_ ," my mate tears off my skirt, "I will be a heathen _between those gorgeous legs of yours._ "

I had no chance to react as Aro takes off my underwear, leaving my nether regions completely bare. He takes this as a chance to go down on me, positioning himself just where he said he would, _in between my legs._

A small whimper leaves my mouth as he kisses around my core, never actually touching me where I wanted him to. _Asshole, give me what I want._ Aro nips around me, grazing his teeth so damn _close_ to my folds. I whine, begging him for more. _If I knew you were going to be this difficult, I would have just shown up here naked._

"Testing my self control," My mate whispers against my legs, "In ways I never thought you would."

"You are not the only one being tested for _patience,_ " I hiss, bucking my hips up into him. Aro chuckles again, pinning my hips down. With those damn _skilled_ hands of his, he presses against one spot right next to my clit. I moan, feeling my own fluids rush out of me, his touch being some sort of lever inside of me that he had the controls for.

"Mia regina will just have to learn some _patience_. I am most willing to _teach_ you, if you know what I mean," I let out a laugh at the reference.

"So unoriginal," I say, "Stealing lines from your own soul brother. I bet you _loved_ watching us go at it, you pervert."

Aro hisses before suddenly pressing a single finger inside of my folds, pushing into my entrance. A loud moan falls through my lips, my hips bucking up and my head tilting back in pleasure. My mate growls at me before starting to thrust his finger inside of me, giving me some of the pleasure that I needed.

My eyes obsidian, I whine as he slips another one of his long and slender fingers inside of me. My mate growls as I let out a long string of moans, my hips pushing against the hand that held them down. Arousal pooling in between my legs, I try to close my legs, the euphoria hitting my core becoming almost too good to handle. Almost.

" _Anna_ ," my mate growls. "You make it so hard to _treat you_ , il mio amore."

I couldn't even verbally respond to him, just moaning and whining. _Please, please give me more, mate. It feels so good._ Aro hisses, moving my legs further apart, allowing him better access to me. I could hear his breath hitch in his chest as he slid in a third finger, watching me as I started to come undone.

Bucking my hips, I chased my release. That sweet, sweet release in my core that would snap in the best ways. I need _more._ I needed him to give me _more._ What feels like a _fire_ rumbles through my core, begging to be quelled.

"That's it, Anna," my mate coaxes. "Cum for me, mia regina."

Thrusting his fingers into me one last time, I dip my head back and let out a quiet scream as my orgasm rips through me, burning through everything that I had in me. My body shook as I came down from my high, Aro growling and purring next to me. The fire that had been lit was not fully set out, still begging me to complete my bond with my mate correctly.

"Aro," I whimper, "Please."

My mate, now above me, whispers, "What do you want, my sweet Anna?"

_Please, Aro, just take me. Please take me now. I want you. I want you so badly that I can't stand it._

"For you, my sweet Anna," Aro whispers, " _Anything_."

Not giving me any time to react, he rips through the last of his own clothing, tearing through my own shirt as well. I gasp as I feel him enter me, shifting myself so that I could feel him at a better angle. My mate eased himself into me, hissing under his breath when I would move my hips up into him.

It took him some time to bury himself in my core. I, being the impatient woman that I am, whined at his lack of movement. I silently pleaded for him to move, forgetting that he was able to hear everything that I was thinking to myself. _Fuck, just move. Just move a little bit and it'll be better than this!_

A growl came from my mate as he grabbed my hips, thrusting hard into me. Aro gave me what I had wanted, albeit in his own savage way, screwing me into our bed in the nest. The purple sheets tore under me as I held onto them, unable to control my moans and strength as my mate gave me the pleasure I so desired.

I cried out his name as I shuddered under him, finding myself lost in my own seas of pleasure.

"Mi sembri irresistibile chiamarmi così, il mio amore," Aro says, thrusting into me with the same force as before, " _Mi piace quando gridi per me, mia regina._ "

It didn't take him very long to find my sweet spot. One rough snap of his hips had me screaming for him, begging him for _more._ _There. Fuck, right there. Per favore! Ti amo, mio re._

"Anch'io ti amo, mia regina," Aro whispers lovingly into my ear, placing his hand in mine.

The fire that had burned inside of me started up again, pulling me so close to release. Aro brought up my hand and kissed it lovingly, pulling me over the edge. The flood of fire lit my body and core on fire, doing nothing to calm my nerves that were still on edge. I felt like I was floating.

My mate hissed, pulling me out of my trance, looking me in the eye as he came, snapping down his hips into me one last time. The light that came through the blinds caused his skin to glow, a diamond-like shimmer radiated off of him. Everything about him was _perfect_ , to his hair to his skin, his hands and the way that he could make me feel. Complete and utter _perfection._

Sliding out of me, Aro snuggles down into the almost destroyed sheets on the bed, holding me in his arms. I smile at him, kissing his chest. _You look so pretty._

"I should be the one saying that, amore," He teases.

"No, my diamond king is very pretty and will always be pretty," I mumble, still high on the pleasure that clouded my abdomen. "Pretty people get to be called pretty."

"Then you are the prettiest in the land, Anna," Aro laughs. "How did I get to have someone as amazing as you fall into my life and into my bed?"

"You existed. Thank Mr. Soleil later for the bed part though. Without him, there would be no fun bedtime."

"Of course, thank our completion of the bond and sexual activity on our son's toy."

"Don't make me make you make me feel good again."

"I would be delighted to, mia regina."


	32. Decency is Hard to Find When You're Immortal

"The Volturi are nothing more than _monsters_ who claim that their tyranny is for the benefit of our species! Humanity should be _ours._ "

**_Ugh, it's so annoying. Kill it, Anna._ ** _Don't tell me what to do, Maeve._ **_Mmm, you won't be saying that once you have to deal with the next guy that comes in. Fucking bastard._ ** _Keep quiet, Maeve, I'm trying to deal with this trial._ **_Mhm._ **

"Are you not a monster? Do you not feed on humanity like they are nothing more than _cattle_? You see, Rue, you are just as bad if not worse than the _entire_ Volturi," Aro stepped in front of the red-headed woman, "You are such a _pathetic_ vampire. Immortality has given you _nothing_ , you have simply learned _nothing._ What a pity that your gift is so useless to the world. The fates have given you the gift to _see the past_? Why see what has already happened?"

"I know what you people do," she seethes, "I know what you _have_ with you."

At that, Aro growls, knowing who she was talking about. _She knows about Helios. She will have to die not only because of her crimes but because of her knowledge. Nobody can find out right now._

"What you know will be your _demise,_ " Caius hisses, holding me on his lap. "Our son is not your concern."

"The Volturi, holding an _immortal child_ as if it were a _human,_ " the criminal accuses. "What would the world think? Were you all not the ones to create the rule in the first place? How far the Volturi has fallen. You will be defeated and you will be destroyed for the way that you treat people, the way you manipulate and brainwash people into joining you."

"How dare you?" Demetri loses his composure, pinning the woman down on the marble floor, "None of us are _brainwashed_ and my _little brother_ is no immortal child!"

"He runs like them, he talks like them, he-" Marcus cuts her off.

"Helios has brown eyes, blood, and a heartbeat." The criminal growls at my mates, who were dismissing her accusations and wished to proceed with the trial. "My brothers and I would never allow an immortal child to live. My son, although he has venom and drinks human blood on a daily basis, grows just like any other human child. He has aged quite quickly, actually, looking to be almost 3 at a month old. Such accusations from you will not be tolerated. This is a trial and we are your leaders. I am a king, show some _respect._ "

Aro wasted no time and ripped off her head, an annoyed expression on his face. **_He wants to kill everyone who claims his son to be an immortal child._** _I would be upset if he didn't, Maeve. Honestly, these criminals are getting ballsy, thinking that they can speak to their leaders in such a fashion. Accusing the law of the land of such a serious crime is just...I mean leaders break the law all the time but we just aren't willing to talk about that-_ ** _You didn't break any laws, Anna._** _I know, I know._

"Onto the next asshole then."

__________________________________________________

It had taken a month, but Carlisle had finally responded to the letter that I had sent him. **_Finally. I get he was busy, but like find some time for your queen. Yeah, that would be great._** _Glad to know that you have my back, Maeve._ ** _Always, my queen._**

_Dear Queen Annalise,_

_I should start off this letter with my apologies. I have taken much too long to write this letter. Things are busy around here and tensions are high. Edward is still fighting the decision made by the Volturi and the family to make Bella a vampire. I do not see why, but it has been stressful. I know that you do not like the two of them, but it is the truth. Being a coven leader is hard sometimes, especially when two of your coven members are not getting along at the moment._

_Rosalie and Edward have drifted. I can sense that Rose has completely taken your side on the issues concerning you. I doubt that this rift will be able to be ratified in the near future, not with how my son is acting towards her. I would not wish to push on you, but I know that you do care about my daughter. You two are great friends and you deserve to know about what is happening around here. After everything that we have dragged you into, that much you deserve to know._

_I am fearful that now Jasper is starting to take sides as well. You will be happy to know that it is your side that he is taking at the moment, even when Alice is best friends with Edward and Bella. It seems that your bond is stronger than I once thought._

_Sides are not something that I take when it comes to petty drama. I side with the law and my own morals. In that case, I do take sides, as that is when it counts._

_Alice has finally confirmed that you will not be coming to the wedding. Bella keeps on considering it a thought and says that it may still happen. Her paranoia really is unnecessary. I know that Edward has read my thoughts while I silently read your letters. He knows that you have no plans of coming to the wedding of people who have acted so poorly. My only fear is that these accusations will cause further divide._

_I have never had to ask for help before, but I must now. I know when I have exhausted my knowledge. Do you have any advice on how to fix any broken relations within covens? Do your mates? I have stayed with the Volturi and I know that they do fight sometimes. My lack of experience on solving these sorts of issues could further divide us. My coven is my family and my family means everything to me, as you already know._

_Power is something that flows. It comes and goes throughout time and space. Some look for it and for some it finds them. The latter is what has happened to you. You have the most power out of any woman in the world at the moment, no matter what any criminal or telepathic son of mine has to say about it. The facts are simple, Annalise: you have the power to do good in this immortal world. Use it well._

_I do wish to hear of that future wedding and possible coronation. I missed the first one as I was not alive yet and the event sounds delightful. The only time where all vampires join together in harmony and celebration._

_Since this letter is getting quite long, I shall leave you at this: I know that no matter what happens, you will do what you believe is right and just, that is your greatest gift of all._

_With care,_

_Carlisle Cullen_

The man had never asked _me_ for advice once. Carlisle was always the one to have all of the answers, the person who I went to if I needed his opinion. To have him asking _me_ for advice so important as the way to solve broken relations in a coven was an _honor._

**_Carlisle may not be able to admit it, but even he has taken a side, and that side is not with his son and future daughter-in-law. He knows you, Anna, and knows that whatever Edward says is hateful garbage. He beats himself over it. Carlisle hates the fact that Edward is speaking so poorly of you when he knows that his father loves you like a daughter. It makes him angry. It has been the first time he has truly become angry with his son. His morals are tested with him, as he knows you as a moral person, as the girl who didn't even want to live two years ago._ **

****It was true, Carlisle was patient and would never openly fight with his own son, even if he was angry and at his wits end. He was a much better person in that regard, able to handle almost anything thrown at him.

I just hope that I haven't caused him to go over the edge with my existence.

__________________________________________________

"Well, what do you want me to say to him? We haven't had any major problems around here since my arrival. All smooth sailing in the Volturi for the past 4 months," I knew the best person to ask about _relations_ would likely be Aro, who has always been the main leader of the Volturi. His people skills are spectacular.

"Hmm, Carlisle has never asked this sort of thing. I suspect that things must have gotten really bad over there for him to come to _us_ for help," I whine, just wanting Aro to answer my question. "Likely the best course of action at this point would be to sit everyone down and hit them with his authority. Tell them that they must get along _or else._ Edward will try to convert his father and Isabella will back him up. Rosalie is stubborn and Jasper is your friend. They are a tricky bunch."

"Have we _ever_ had something like this happen?" Aro's face lit up with remembrance.

"After the snowball fight of 1784 Caius did get _super dramatic_. He almost started a riot in the guard over something that you do not need to know about," **_Caius destroyed all of the guard's stuff after they were found out to be a part of the leaving out of him in regards to the snowball fight_** , "She just told you, didn't she? Maeve, keep her in the dark on some things, it leads to good outcomes."

**_Aro, shut up, you little rat._ ** _Maeve! No! Do not call my precious mate a rat! I will hurt you._ **_What are you going to do, Anna, I'm inside your head._ ** _I'll play bad music in my head all day and night._ **_Gods above, you are a bitch sometimes._ ** _So are you, bitch._ **_Bitch._ **

"Maeve is being a bitch. She called you a _rat._ I, of course, defended you. You are not a rat, you are my sweet and glittery mate and I love you for it," Aro chuckles at the word _glittery_ and picks me up in his arms.

"Anyways, I had to use my authority over everyone to force people to stop saying bad things about one another. Once people stop being able to _talk shit_ , they let go of their anger pretty quickly, even Caius, the king of being a little bit of a _bitch_ ," I gasp at Aro's words. "Don't even deny the fact that he can be a petty bitch sometimes."

"He is the pettiest bitch but it's what I love about him," my mate chuckles again and kisses my head.

"Carlisle should be able to handle this as long as Edward is willing to be a decent vampire who cares about his position in his coven. Even if it does hurt, my old friend will have to realize that when people create too many problems, it is likely in the favor of the survival of the coven to cut them loose. I would not ever wish to see the downfall of the Olympic Coven. They are good people, even if they destroy nature by eating animals," I chuckle at the blow to Carlisle's diet. It was a noble way to live in some ways, but was irrational in so many other ways. I could never live that kind of life. I mean, how could someone be so willing to give up the euphoria of drinking human blood? Carlisle, apparently.

"So tell Carlisle that he should threaten to kick people out if they keep on causing extreme social problems?"

"Precisely, my sweet. In the end, vampires are immortal. If he does not fix the problem now, those problems will become immortal as well."


	33. Tears Unshed

Having to write a letter explaining to your own father figure that he may need to cut off his adopted son that he knows I hate was not the way that I thought I was going to spend my monday afternoon. Thankfully I had decided to write the letter _after_ the weekend, meaning that I had fed and was not yet begging for more human blood.

At that, I started the letter:

_Dear Carlisle,_

_Although I had no idea how to deal with coven related issues, I have gotten some insight from Aro on this matter. He knows how to fix problems better than the rest of the damn world, so his words should be taken seriously._

_Using his own words: Even if it does hurt, my old friend will have to realize that when people create too many problems, it is likely in the favor of the survival of the coven to cut them loose. In the end, vampires are immortal. If he does not fix the problem now, those problems will become immortal as well._

_Yes, this may come as a shock to you, but the Volturi have kicked people out. Those who have been kicked out usually were problem starters and would not stop gossiping and causing social issues. Yeah, I am insinuating what you think I am insinuating about Edward and Bella._

_Mostly Edward._

_Your son has broken his trust with me and will never be a part of my life again, no matter what. That does not mean that I am fully against you as his father. I simply believe that you have allowed him to harm my friends, your other children, for far too long._

_I know for a fact that Jasper feels Edward's thirst. I know that he feels left out. He told me himself. He feels like the only thing even making him a part of the coven is his marriage to Alice and his friendship with Emmett. I know that this is hard to hear, but it may help you understand where Rose, Emmett, and Jasper are coming from. Feeling like you don't belong hurts, feeling like that with your own family stings even more._

_You must remember that Jasper feels what everyone feels, even bloodlust. All of this negative energy revolving around me must be stressing him out. You may be able to cope with a lot of emotional stress, but Jasper is a survivor of war. Marcus says that the newborn year is very important for vampires. It shapes them. It is the reason that you have impeccable control and it is the reason that my friend picks sides on things he cares about. PTSD can come in many forms, remember that._

_Rose being on my side should be a no brainer, Carlisle. She has and will always be my best friend, no matter how long we go without talking. My first real female friend, Rosalie has a fire in her heart and will protect anyone she feels needs protection from her. She remembers when I didn't even want to live. You know the circumstances under which she changed, you know what she did as a newborn._

_She already had a rough start with Edward, who didn't even really sound like he liked her at all when I was with him. He calls her vain and it pisses her off. Edward has already started conflict in the family and this divide was bound to come sooner or later. I am afraid to say that my existence has just accelerated that process. That was not my intent._

_Emmett bear is my Emmett bear and will always be my Emmett bear. The man child is the best big brother I never had and he will stand with Rose. Not because she is his mate, but because he also loves me._

_Rifts have occurred throughout the centuries in covens, they can be quelled for some time but must be tenderly looked after. By tenderly looking after I mean that the leader needs to squash it with their hand like it was a flea carrying some unknown deadly disease._

_You care about your coven, but I know that you care about me as well. If you didn't, you would not be exchanging letters with me. You have been caught, Carlisle Cullen. I have caught you. Yes, I, Annalise Volturi have caught you. Grovel at my feet the way that Edward and Bella think I want you to, it will be a mighty fine show._

_Give them hell for me and say Hi to my bear, my babes, and my Jazzy man,_

_Annalise Volturi_

Once I had gone over the letter over and over again, making sure my Italian was perfect, I took the letter and wax sealed it in my favorite purple wax. Taking it up to the letter box, I watched as Felix came in with the mail.

"Mom, I have mail for you," Felix smiles and hands me three letters. _I guess everyone is just sending letters instead of using texts these days. I texted them once to put their numbers in my phone. Lord, guys._ ** _One of them is actually from Alexandros._** _From the ball?_ ** _Yeah. Read it, Anna, it's a funny one._**

 ****"Thank you, Felix," I smile back at him and read the first letter, which was clearly addressed to me in Jasper's handwriting. _My Jazzy man, I miss you already._

_Dear Anna,_

_I know that the Volturi are kind of on a sort of holiday right now, but I would like to warn you about some things._

_I fear that Edward is going to get Bella to refuse to be a vampire once he is able to you-know-what with her. I know he has enough control now, although he may bruise her up a bit. My brother does not want to turn her and blames you for her having to turn, even if it was the decision of your mates and would be required by law._

_Things are crazy around here and emotions are running wild. I know that it's bad to take sides and all, but if I had to pick between Edward and you I would always pick you. My brother needs to get his head out of his behind and get himself a better brain. It is harsh, but you and I both know it's true._

_He hasn't been the same since meeting Bella. It feels like he doesn't even care about me. It hurts when he constantly says rude things about you when he knows that I love you like a baby sister. You are my baby sister in my eyes and I would do anything to protect you. He should understand what it's like to be in love, if he even loves Bella at all, which I am doubting at this point._

_The two of them are bad for each other and they are about to get married. I won't say anything and I will just go along with everything. If I am being honest, I would like to leave. This is just so stressful and I can't handle it anymore._

_Would anyone even take a former southern vampire war general? I doubt that I am strong enough to join the Volturi. Nobody has ever offered me a position anywhere. I always came as a tag along with Alice._

_Everyone is just drifting from me. Carlisle is at his wits end. I have never felt such anger from him in all of my years knowing him. I care about him. I don't want him to feel like this. I try to help but it just doesn't feel like I am doing enough._

_Nothing feels like it's enough anymore. Not enough hunting to be around Bella, not enough love to be around my own family, not enough care to be in this town or even in this world. I feel like I'm falling apart and I don't know who else would understand. You're the only one who has been through anything similar._

_I'll always be your Jazzy man,_

_Jasper Whitlock Cullen Hale_ :|

My heart dropped at Jasper's words. _Not enough care in the world to live? What the hell is going on in that damn house that is making my fucking best friend borderline suicidal?_ ** _Edward keeps on throwing him under the bus and Alice does nothing to stop it at this point. He tries to reason with everyone but he can't seem to get through to anyone but Carlisle and Esme. They try to stop the attacks but they don't know the full extent of what Jasper feels like right now, often being calmed by him._**

Maeve's words haunted me. The fact that my best male friend was going through the feelings that I had just gotten rid of _stung._ It _stung_ more than any attacks that Edward could throw my way himself.

He couldn't get to me personally, so he got to me through my friends.

The 2nd letter was from Alexandros, who I had not heard from since the ball.

_Dear Queen Annalise,_

_I know that we have not spoken since the ball where we were first acquainted, but I would like to reach out to you now as a form of allyship. Your mates have been my friends since forever. Marcus, Aro, and I grew up in the same area, as you know. They will always have my back and I will always have theirs. Caius may be annoyed by my presence, but he will always be seen by me as an angry older brother that yells at his younger siblings to stop playing with his toys._

_Just so you know, the three of them are extremely territorial with other males. I mean, they actually started glaring at me when I was talking to you. I don't think you noticed. You are much too innocent to be mated to those heathens disguised as kings. Aro, since you will be able to read this, hello and I send my regards. Let me embarrass you._

_As Aro is one of my best friends, I will embarrass him first. Check his drawers in his closet. That's all I will be saying in written form, but check out those drawers, I promise you won't be disappointed._

_For Caius, the petty thing, ask him about the dungeons._

_Since Marcus was my next door neighbor, I know a bit too much about him. Hell, we were sired by the same rogue ancient. His neck is super sensitive, as is the rest of his body. He doesn't let it on, but he is really sensitive everywhere. Use it to your advantage, my queen._

_Hope you all have fun for the rest of eternity,_

_Alexandros_

Losing my innocence did make me understand some things about sexual activity, but the only thing I could understand was the thing about Marcus. _Dungeons and drawers, the next level of D &D. _**_Oh Gods, you don't get it. Lord, this is-Anna please you can't be this stupid! I have been feeding you information by the damn spoonful and you still don't understand?_**

 ****I ignored the insults made by Maeve and opened up the last letter. I could tell that this one was sent by Esme, which was quite odd since she usually was not the kind of person to send long letters.

_Dear my Anna,_

_I know we have not had the chance to talk, but I do want you to know that I am not upset like some of my family over you leaving Forks to be with your mates. I left with Carlisle once he told me that we were mates. It was the best decision of my life. I have never been happier than when I am with him._

_What is happening around here is not what I would have expected. While I wish that you were here to cheer up my son and my daughter, who are fighting with Edward on his views of you, I know that our future may not do better with us adding more fuel to the fire. I know that Carlisle is stressed and has asked you for help. Thankfully Edward has stayed quiet about it and had not argued with him over the letter._

_My mate does not beg for anything, but I know that his words did not do well to tell his true pleas. He is lost and does not know what to do. I have done all that I can to comfort him. My one true fear is that he will crack and will regret whatever he says after he falls off that cliff. It will not be his fault if anyone pushes him over the edge, but you know that the guilt will haunt him forever._

_He cares for you just like any one of his own coven members, even if you are not in our coven. In my eyes, you will always be an honorary member of the Olympic coven._

_I am fine, albeit a bit worried over the mental state of Jasper and Carlisle. The two of them have been spending more time together. My mate has tried to help, but I know the two of us have not done enough. For years we have not done enough. It eats us both alive to know just how depressed Jasper is. He doesn't tell anyone about it and I know that Edward knows and just plays it off on Rosalie being upset and it affecting him. He doesn't even own up to the fact that he is killing his own brother and covenmate from the inside out._

_Rosalie is done with Edward. I know it and Carlisle will have to see it at some point. He has optimism, but Rose loves you too much to tolerate Edward enough and will never see him as a brother or friend again. It is the end of their friendship._

_Emmett has stayed quite quiet, which is unlike him. He will not talk to Edward and only tries to comfort Jasper during their free time. They are closer, but I know Jasper still feels outcast and disconnected from everyone, even Alice, who has not even noticed his depression._

_Everything has changed, and I do not know what to do. I hope that you have replied and will be able to help, even if it is small. I do not want to see the destruction of my coven. They are my family._

_I just want you to know that none of this is your fault. It is ours for not seeing the signs sooner._

_You will always be my daughter,_

_Esme Cullen_

Her words hit me like a truck. _Alice doesn't even notice?_ ** _Too busy with wedding planning. They are not mates, Anna, their love fades like a human's would. I believe that Alice and Jasper will not last much longer. I feel for him. Honestly, even I am disappointed. Her own husband is suffering in near silence and she doesn't even care that much, only thinking of Edward and Bella and that wedding of theirs._**

 ****It was the truth, they were not mates.

Here I was, in silence, unable to shed any tears that welled in my eyes as I fell to the ground.


	34. Chaos at the Cullens

Carlisle's POV

Things had gotten almost unbearable in the house. Every little thing set me off in ways that they never did before our divide. The family that I had once called my own felt more like enemies than friends. The offhand comments would not have phased me even two years ago, but now that I loved the person that they were made towards I could not stand it.

Anna is my daughter, whether or not she calls me father does not matter. She will always be my daughter and I love her dearly as I would any of my covenmates. I would gladly give my life for her if push came to shove.

"Leave me alone, Edward," Emmett tells his brother, who shook his head at him. The much taller man rolls his eyes at him, about to leave the living room to go join Rosalie in their room. She had been cooped up in there with Jasper for the last hour and a half after he had yet another panic attack.

My children were hurting and I felt like I was failing.

"You can't possibly be thinking that, Emmett. I am your _brother_ and Bella will be my _wife_. Why do you think that I don't care about you when I want what is best for this family?" _Edward, that is my job as the coven leader. I want what is best and I chose what is best. You know perfectly well why Emmett is mad at you._

My son turns to me, having heard my thoughts. "Not you as well, Carlisle. Why is it so hard to see that Anna is doing this all to us? First she gets with the Volturi, who are evil. Second, she kills a bunch of criminals and comes to see us with some _voice_ in her head that Alice cannot make out. Third, she tries to kill me just because I tried to protect Bella from her mate. Fourth, she gets all of us in a riot and forces us against each other."

"How could you?" I choke out, my own eyes flooding with tears that could never be shed. Never had someone spoken with such hate and malice in their hearts. I don't even think that the Romanians had such hatred, or Jane when she was torturing people. Not even Caius hated people as much as my own son did.

"How could I not, father?" My son tries to pull the father card on me. Emmett turns to me, his mouth agape as tears of his own fill his golden eyes.

I give a broken smile as Rose and Jasper finally come down from Rose's bedroom. I give one last look at my broken down son as he sits down on a chair. I could tell that he had been dry crying as vampires do. My older son had been crying nonstop for the last few days up in Emmett and Rose's room, being held by them as he released all of the pent up pain he had been holding for god knows how long/

"She's _dangerous_ , father. She's _cruel_. She breaks everything that she touches." Each word broke me down further. I felt like my own son had torn me apart and was about to light me on fire. Perhaps he already did. It _hurt_ so much. Never in my immortal life did I feel pain like the pain I felt when he attacked my daughter.

This was not my son. This couldn't be my son. I couldn't allow someone like this to be my son.

I did not turn someone just for them to tear me apart like this.

"After all of this time you all don't understand. After all that she has done. She is a _murderer_. She _kills for fun._ Annalise Volturi is a monster like no other," more jarring words ripped through the fabric of my very being.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Jasper silently crying, being shielded by Rose, who had gone over to comfort him once again. _You...you....You do this for what? To hurt me? To get some point across? You tear apart my heart and Jasper's own sanity and you want us to believe that my daughter is a monster? Edward..._

"She is no daughter of yours. She has no father, no mother, no family. It was the reason that she wanted to die. I wish she had, it would make things better for our family."

It was that one sentence that hurdled my pain into pure and unbridled fury. To insult my daughter, no claim that she had no family, and to _wish that she had successfully committed suicide_ was atrocious, monsterous, and abhorrant.

Anna was the one person that I saw in myself. Out of everyone, when I first saw her, I saw a reflection of myself. She looked so broken, so ready to die. She really did _want to die._ Nothing would have stopped her if you gave her the gun. Anna would have pulled the trigger every time if I had not opened myself up to her, given her all the love that I could possibly give.

The queen of our species had laid on a hospital bed that she put herself in almost a year and a half ago and Edward Masen Cullen had the _audacity_ to claim her a monster? After what he had done to humans?

My son had fed off of humans just as he had, he just did it because he wanted to. Anna did it because she had a moral standing on the issue, wanting to preserve animal life in the world.

"I wish she were here," Jasper sobbed into his sister's chest. "I want my sissy back."

Emmett hugged his brother and even kissed his head, trying his best to comfort him. Alice wasn't even in the house, having taken Bella out shopping. She didn't even notice her own _husband_ having a panic attack when she left, leaving it alone in favor of taking her future sister-in-law shopping with her. If Esme found me crying like he was, she would have stayed with me until I felt better again.

They just weren't mates like Esme and I were. I would do anything for her and she would do anything for me.

"Why would you want her back, Jasper?" Edward questions my son. Rose and Emmett both hiss at him, protecting their older brother. "She isn't your _sissy,_ she's a damn _sociopath._ "

I shake my head, having to hold in my anger. My fists clenched in my hands as I watched Jasper start crying even harder at the accusation. He loved his sister. In fact, I was already pretty sure that they were in fact _soul siblings_ , just like Demetri and Felix and the kings.

Jasper and Anna would die for each other. God forbid one of them die on each other.

"You all act like she's some kind of saint when she kills and takes over covens for no other reason than because she _can_. She is what people fear from our species. Why can't you just listen to me, father-"

The anger that had been building inside of my chest burned bright as I saw red.

"No. No. You listen to me, Edward, you freaking _ungrateful_ child! She _saved your ass_ and you _talk shit_ about her, to me, someone who you know _damn well_ cares about her!" I shout at my former son. He couldn't be my son anymore. A covenmate maybe, but a son he was no longer. "Have you no damn _class_? You're a _fucking child_ who doesn't know _anything_ about what it is like to _suffer_ as she has!"

Everyone in the room turned to me as I swore at Edward. I had never sworn at any of my children. I had never even _cursed_ in front of anyone but my mate, who I had only done it in front of in moments of extreme venting of my frustrations. It was rare for me to say such horrid words, I knew that, but they couldn't stop coming out.

"You fucking failure of a vampire and you fucking failure of a fucking brother! You fucking failure of a son! You aren't my son. No, not anymore. You," I had to stop to catch my breath, even if I did not need it. I couldn't help it. I was so _angry._ "How could you do this to this family? This coven? Anna is my _daughter._ "

"Actually choosing her over me?" It was a stupid question, with an even easier answer.

"I would choose her over you even if it meant the demise of all of my morals, my values. I would choose Anna even if I had to drink from live humans for the rest of eternity. I would choose my sons, daughters, and my mate over anyone," I sneer. I had to take a step back before I did something that I regretted, looking teary eyed into Edward's almost black eyes.

_You are no fucking son of mine. I am leaving with Jasper, Esme, Rose, and Emmett and we are getting out of here until you can get your head out of your ass and see that not everything in this coven revolves around you. We have feelings, we have bonds, and you are destroying us!_

"You can't just leave, Carlisle. We have a _wedding_ to plan," Edward tries to reason with me. "You have nowhere to go. The Denalis will agree with me on this. The Volturi are _dangerous._ "

"They are also my best friends!" I shout at him, "Aro, Caius, and even Marcus are and have always been my best friends! Back before everything, they were the ones who first supported me in my decisions! They understood that I had a moral belief and they still wanted to be friends with me! Nobody else even wanted to look at me because I had golden eyes! The Volturi have and will always be the most fervent supporters of freedom among vampires!"

Edward hisses at me, taking an offensive stance.

I looked at Jasper once more as he cried into the arms of the rest of the family that was on mine and Anna's side. My mate held him in her arms as she tried to calm him from his panic. I knew what I had to do. Jasper couldn't live like this anymore.

"Esme," my voice was but a whisper, "Get your bags. We need to get Jasper away from this. He needs Anna and he needs Anna _now._ "

"Volterra is closed off to visitors and solicitors," Edward says, looking at his brother and snarling, "We can handle Jasper here."

" _Handle him_?" Rose stands up and screams at Edward, "Jasper is in _pain_. He has been in _pain_ for so long but you haven't even _cared_! Not you or Alice or Bella have even _cared_ that he has been _breaking down_ because of how much you beat up on him! We are taking him somewhere he will feel _safe_ and there is _nothing_ you can do to stop us!"

Edward looked to Emmett for help, but he just growled at him.

"I thought that you wanted me to be _happy_ with Bella," Edward tried to change the subject. "I thought you wanted me to be happy."

"Honestly," I growl at him, "Right now I want you _dead._ "

"Carlisle-"

"No! I am saying it because it is the truth. If you don't let me leave with the remains of my coven _I will kill you_. I will _burn your remains_ and I will _not feel bad about it._ You have _broken me,_ you have _broken Jasper_. I will not let you break my entire coven," I shoo him away from me when he tries to come closer. "Leave, I don't want to see you."

"You can't mean that," my sired had manipulative tears in his eyes. "After all, you were the one to make me."

"I hate to be this cruel to you, Edward Masen," he cringes at the use of his mother's name, "But I made you because I was lonely. I was so lonely that I saved a child from death because his mother wanted me to. Just because I made you not mean I should accept your toxic behavior. You mean nothing to me now. Leave me and my family alone. Better yet, never speak to or of me and never use my name again."

"How-" I cut him off.

"Edward, you are a _toxic,_ _abusive, manipulative, and judgemental_ boy. I can not be associated with men like yourself, it is against my morals," I get up and go over to Esme, who held Jasper in her arms.

I bent down and kissed my son on the head, taking over the job of comforting our child. All he wanted was his sister. He wanted Anna to tell him that it was okay. _He just wanted to have her hold him just like he held her when her heart would shatter._

"Jaz," I whisper, wrapping my arms around him. "I promise, you will see your sister again, just wait a few hours and I _promise_ we will be in Volterra to see her."

"Daddy it hurts," he cried into my chest. "It hurts so bad and I don't know how to make it stop."

He had never called me that. When he would call me by a parental name it would always be _father_ or _dad_ at the most. Never anything like _daddy._ I guess I really was the only _daddy_ he could ever have.

"I know, son," I shush him in my arms. "We're going to see Anna. I promise that you will get to see your sissy."


	35. Destination: Volterra

Anna’s POV

I couldn’t even hold my own as I fell to the concrete ground. I could have sworn that I felt a sharp pain right at my heart, not quite unlike the sharp pain that I felt when I was separated from Caius on the plane. Not able to stand straight, I just curled up on the floor and allowed myself to sob.

What I really was sobbing about remained unknown. Some foreign feelings of absolute depression and loneliness washed over me as I dropped all of my letters and curled up in my own cloak.

Felix rushed over to me, having noticed that something was in fact wrong with me. “Mom! Mom what’s wrong?” my covenmate and guard questioned me, pulling the cloak away from my face. I couldn’t stop the small sobs that came out of my mouth.

Everything felt physically normal. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the pull at some unknown bond. I knew it was a bond, it felt similar to my mate bond with my mates, but it was different in its own way, no romance and more like friendship and feelings of home.

“Get-Get Marcus-” I gasp out, my own feelings of utter hysteria taking over.

Felix quickly picks me up and runs me back into the main part of the castle, where Marcus was walking along with Aro, chatting about something in a language I did not recognize. Probably Gaelic, a language that I had been planning to learn and had yet found the time to sit down and get my ass cracking on it.

My mates immediately rushed over to Felix and took him away from me frantically. Their motions were blurred by the tears clouding my vision, unable to spill due to my immortality.

Aro put his hand to my cheek and took in everything that he could, gasping at what he was hearing. I couldn't tell if he was shocked at whatever was pulling at me or what Jasper and Esme had written to me.

“Her bonds!” Marcus exclaims, “Something is up with one of her bonds!”

“ _ Which fucking one, Marcus! She has hundreds at this point! _ ” Aro growled at his soul brother and held me up in his arms, making sure that my sobs landed on his shoulder. “Amore, don’t cry. My sweetest Anna, you do not need to cry. Please darling, mio tesoro, do not be sad.”

“Felix!” Marcus ordered his guard, “Get Caius out of trial and get him here  _ now. _ All trials are postponed for the rest of today and for however long it takes Anna’s bonds to stop reacting.”

“Yes Master,” was all that Felix said as he ran down the hall and into the throne room. Only a few seconds later my blonde mate was by my side, frantic as well.

“Anna,” he coos into my head as he kisses it. “No, no, my mate do not cry. Please do not cry my sweet. Ti amo, amore. Ti amo tanto, cara mia.”

Nothing that any of my mates said could stop the overwhelming anxiety that loomed in my chest. It was like seventh grade all over again. Nothing was right. Something was just plain  _ wrong _ with the way one of my bonds was acting. Something felt so  _ sad _ and  _ hurt _ and  _ worried. _

Worst of all, the pain felt so familiar.

“What happened?” Caius questions rapidly, holding my right hand in his. “What happened to our mate?”

“One of her bonds is lighting up and shaking!” Marcus exclaims. “This, this kind of shake. It's a soul sibling and I haven’t seen something like this happen since-”

Aro took in a deep breath. “Since Didyme. Since she died. We...we all felt it..”

“The pain, the hurt, the fucking  _ depression _ ,” Caius says, holding onto me tighter. “Who is so damn upset as to cause this through the bonds? Who is close enough with her to be her soul sibling? Who was destined to be her friend and sibling that she has already clearly made contact with?”

“It could be across coven lines,” Aro theorizes. “It doesn’t make sense. She is close with Carlisle but that would be a soul  _ parent  _ bond, not a soul  _ sibling  _ bond.”

“Well who over there is so upset as to cause an upset in our mate?” Marcus’ voice was desperate. Hell, I hated feeling like this.

“Shit,” Aro curses, “The letter. The fucking  _ letter. _ ”

“What letter? Aro!” Caius tries to pull the answer out of his raven-headed brother.

“Jazzy,” I whisper, knowing who had been so upset. The only person in the Olympic Coven who was going through something this bad.

“She cannot be away from her soul sibling. It is impossible and-” Caius stops himself. “It has been over a month since she saw him last.”

“Anna was  _ fine  _ before,” Marcus points out.

“Our mate was busy with becoming a vampire and likely did not have the bond click in the same way! She has been exchanging  _ letters _ with him and that would build up a  _ bond _ anyways! You know this, Marcus!”

“Seeing him would have made it final. She needs to see him  _ now _ . It is reacting like this because he is upset and he specifically wants  _ her  _ to comfort him. He is reaching out to her through the bond, is he not, Marcus?” Marcus nods his head at Aro, who now held me close on his chest, shushing me as I cried.

“Take her to Helios. He may be able to make her feel a bit better,” Caius suggests. “Please stop crying, amore, it hurts us all to see you upset. We want you to be happy. We love you, Anna.”

“I love you too,” I choked out, sobbing into Aro’s chest, unable to do or say much as my emotions overwhelmed me.

“Aro, take her to Helios and go call Carlisle to figure out what the hell is happening on his end,” Marcus orders.

“Of course, brother.”

__________________________________________________

Aro’s POV

I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand for this! My mate was hurt on the inside and I would not allow her to feel such pain. It was not fair for her when she was the most beautiful and perfect queen in the world!

Wasting no time after dropping my mate off in the nest with our son, I took to the phone and dialed up Carlisle.

Almost immediately, he answered the phone.

“ _ Aro, I was about to call you- _ ”

“Zip it. What the hell is going on on your end because Anna is having a meltdown over a shaking bond and it has something to do with soul siblings and Jasper!”

“ _ My son has been stressed out over everything and we just left to go to Italy to see you all because I am afraid that if I stay in Forks that he will go insane and I will murder Edward and everyone who tries to stop me from doing so. _ ”

“What. Did. He. Do.”

“ _ Just the usual. Belittling Jasper and myself only to claim that Anna is somehow a monster. I stopped it. I’m done. I’m at my wits end. I was actually going to kill him if he stepped anywhere near me. I will if he even dares speak to me again. _ ”

This behavior was not that of the Carlisle that I remembered. No, this man was tired, pushed over the edge and dangerous.

“How is he right now? Can you  _ try _ to calm him down a bit? I can’t have Anna like this in front of our so-our guard,” I stop myself before I reveal our secret much too early.  _ I guess that the secret will be out soon enough. Better that my friend have another species revealed while on the castle grounds. It has been a long time since we have seen each other in person. _

“ _ I would if I could, Aro. Rose and Emmett are trying to calm him but we can’t sleep and that would be the only way to calm him so that Anna can have some calm as well. What is happening over there? _ ”

“Crying, she’s absolutely  _ depressed _ in ways that not even Marcus could be. Her anxiety is through the roof and I can’t seem to calm her at all! I’m her  _ mate _ , Carlisle, why can’t I calm her?” I cry out in frustration. Through the mating bond I should be able to calm her at least a tiny bit, but she just wouldn’t budge in her emotions.

“ _ I don’t know. I haven’t seen something like this with Jasper. Ever. Esme and I have always been able to calm him down once things get even a little bit close to becoming this. _ ”

“How many of your coven are coming?”

“ _ All of us that are left. I’m cutting Alice, Edward, and Bella if she obeys the law and becomes a vampire. I don’t want them in my family. God, Aro, what did I do to let this happen? I should have just kicked them out when this all started. I was so stupid. _ ”

“You weren’t stupid, you were overly kind and optimistic like you always are. It is a blessing and a curse.”

“ _ Now it's a curse. _ ”

“In this specific case yes but that is not the point-”

“ _ It is the point, Aro. I am not fit to lead a coven of vampires. I lack the strength that you do. _ ”

“What are you trying to say, Carlisle? What is a group of vampires without a coven?”

“ _ I don’t know, okay. We will get there in like half an hour. We took a private jet of mine. We literally just landed. How long has Anna been freaking out? _ ”

“About half an hour at this point.”

“ _ He knows he’s close to her and is calling out. He just wants his sister. _ ”

“I know. I do crazy things when away from my brothers. It is why we have stayed together for over three thousand years.”

“ _ What will we do? Soul siblings cannot just stay apart. They have to be together as a family. _ ”

“Well, from what his letter says, he would be willing to join Anna.”

“ _ Thank God. Would you take him? He is gifted, which would be quite useful- _ ”

“Carlisle, I would take him because he is a good person and because he is my mate’s soul brother, regardless of whether or not her is gifted. Get that through your thick immortal skull.”

“ _ You always were harsh. _ ”

“Only to you when you make me sound like an ass.”

“ _ Are you not just that? _ ”

“Did you call me an ass without actually saying the word ass? Carlisle, you are much too gentlemanly for your own good.”

“ _ Oh, you’re going to love this then _ .”

“Tell me more.”

“ _ I may or may not have called Edward a ‘fucking failure of a fucking brother. _ ’”

I gasp,  _ The great Carlisle Cullen swearing at his own covenmate. Oh Gods, I never thought I would see or hear the day! _

“ _ I have the memory to back it up as well. I knew you would love it, judging from your gasp. _ ”

“I wish I could see it in person.”

“ _ You do get the next best thing. Front row seats, as you once called it. To the show of someone’s lifetime. _ ”

“Oh, for you it is just a melodrama. Caius is an action movie, and for my mate it really could be considered a romance. I would love to see what our lives have become.”

“ _ You, the king of memories and the king of drama. _ ”

“I do quite like the memories of a mildly unhinged and broken man.”

“ _You think I'm broken?_ ”  
“I think that you literally just called your old covenmate asking for entryway into his coven and got his acceptance.”

“ _ Why would you think that, my old friend? _ ”

“Let’s see, you are making small talk with me, already allowed your soul son into the coven, and now are speaking with me just the way that you did when you were with the Volturi, less formal and much more like yourself.”

“ _ Damn, you really are clever, Aro. _ ”

“Still the same way with words, I see.”

“ _ Only for you, brother. _ ”


	36. Joining the Volturi

Jasper’s POV

My breathing remained ragged as Rose helped me out of the plane. Nothing made sense anymore. The world that I had made for myself, all of the walls that I had put up around my own emotions and my gift were falling down, leaving what was left of me.

I felt like I was alone, even if people were all around me. Nothing shook my feelings of loneliness. It didn’t matter how many people tried to comfort me, the one person who I wanted wasn’t here.

Anna. The girl who I had grown to love like she was my own sister, my own family. In the end, she was what I wanted more than anything. To hear her voice again, to see her newly immortal face. I hadn’t gotten a chance to see her, not really.

Out of everyone I had ever met, she was the one that made me feel like I had found a home, found a place where someone loved me just as much as I loved them.

A city of blood and gore, the main base of the ruling coven of vampires, Volterra truly was a beautiful place. It’s beauty could not be admired by my golden eyes. I just kept my head down, making sure that no humans could see what we were, what we  _ really _ were. They thought that they had gotten rid of us for good, that we were never going to step foot in their city.

Vampires had never left.

“Jaz,” Rose whispers, holding me close to her, protecting me from whatever could come next. It wasn’t like the Volturi were just going to let in a coven without cause. Some of us didn’t even have gifts. The ones that did couldn’t be worth their time. “Stay close to me. It’s going to be okay.”

The problem was that it didn’t feel like that. No, it didn’t feel like I would ever be okay again. I felt numb, hollow to the core. She was  _ missing _ from me and no matter how much I called out to her in my head, she wouldn’t be able to hear me. I was cut off completely, with our letter exchange being the only real contact we had for the last four months.

My numbness did not exclude the complete pain I felt when even thinking about her.

“Jazzy,” Emmett whispers to me, “Carlisle just got off the phone with Aro. You can see her. He promised that you could see her. She wants to see you too.”

His words did nothing for me. Words meant nothing. Even the words that tore me apart would mean nothing.

Anna’s words meant something. Those words would mean something to me.

God, I missed her. Her voice, her comfort, her  _ everything. _ Everything about her just felt like  _ home. _

I wanted home back more than anything else in this world. No hunger, no nothing, just  _ home. _

“Jasper,” Carlisle’s voice was soft as he walked next to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I know it doesn’t feel okay now, but your sister loves you and she is going to see you once we get inside the castle. She-”

My father cut himself off and just sighed, walking faster. The castle was now in sight, with one of the entrances guarded by none other than Jane and Alec Volturi, the witch twins of Volterra.

Known as to be one of the most powerful vampires in the world. Also, the most protective of my Anna.

Out of sight, we sped up to the entrance. The twins smiled at Carlisle but showed no emotion when looking at the rest of us.

“Where is she?” Carlisle asks the two teenage vampires.

“We are holding no vi-” Jane was cut off by none other than Aro, who had rushed himself to the eneterence and in front of his covenmate.

“Let them in, Jane. They have to come in,” Aro tries to rush us in, but Jane does not budge, openly defying her sire.

“They cannot  _ see him _ . It is  _ dangerous _ for them to be here, father. They cannot find out!”  _ Find out what? Why are...Is that why they’ve been cooping people up in the castle? They have something to hide? _

“The Olympic Coven are going through something and it is for the sake of my mate and her sanity that we get them inside  _ now. _ Jane, let them through. For the  _ sake of your mother _ , let them through,” Jane huffs, but does as Aro tells, opening up the doors to the castle and ushering us inside.

My insides churned as I felt the eyes on me. All of the members of the guard were looking at us and then looking at the throne room. They all guarded that door, making sure that nobody could get inside.  _ Where is my sister? Please, I just want my sister. _

It only took us about a minute to get where Aro was taking us. Aro looked at Marcus and Caius, who were standing outside the door. Both of them nodded, giving permission to go into the room.

Even from far away I knew that the room they were taking us to was not like any other room in the castle. This room was  _ scented _ by someone who had found their mates.

It smelled like  _ Anna. _

I couldn’t go in here. No, mate rooms were damn near  _ holy _ and nobody could go inside. Not without direct permission from all parties involved in the making of the room. This was her  _ safe space _ and I would  _ never  _ invade that, no matter how much I longed for her comfort, to see her.

“Go in, Jasper,” Caius seethes, “If we cannot help our mate, you will be able to. It seems that you  _ both _ need each other. I will never do anything to stop my mate from being  _ happy,  _ even if it means allowing another  _ male _ in our  _ nest. _ ”

“Just…” Marcus sighs. “Just make sure not to freak out when you see  _ him _ .”

Not taking any time after being given permission, I open the door. A great big purple room was revealed. Her favorite color. Of course it would be the color of her nest. All around I could see LED lights hanging, lighting up the room to reveal the shimmer in the paint.

“Jazzy,” I heard Anna call out to me. I looked to where her voice came from. Before I could move in further, the door was shut behind me, letting a loud creak fill the air.

When I saw her face, everything just  _ clicked. _ My sister was sitting on one of her many couches, a sad smile on her face. She felt  _ equal _ in her unhappiness. Her hair was a mess and her eyes showed tears that would never be able to fall.

On her right sat a boy, a small little boy. He looked to be about four or five, give or take.  _ He...he has a heartbeat. Did sissy adopt a baby? His heart doesn’t sound right at all. Like a butterfly or a hummingbird. It’s beautiful. God, he’s the cutest little thing ever. _

“Jazzy,” Anna repeats, speeding up to me and tackling me to the ground. I let out a half hearted sob that sounded like it was mixed with a sour laugh. Her head bumped with mine as she laid with me on the floor. “Jazzy I missed you so much. What’s wrong? The bond is going crazy.”

I had almost forgotten just how bad I felt when I saw the little boy let out a small giggle.

“You...you….” I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth. My heart dropped in my chest once more as I felt the pain all over again.  _ He wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He wouldn’t stop hurting me. He hurt me so bad. It hurts so bad. I thought that we were family. I just wanted to be a good brother. I failed. God, I failed at everything. I’m a failure. _

“No, no, no, Jazzy,” Anna looks me in the eyes as I let out another sob. I couldn’t stop as the sobs escaped my mouth. At that moment I wished that the tears could fall. Instead, they just welled in my eyes and blinded my vision. “Jazzy, I’m here.”

I nodded my head, knowing that she was right in front of me. My sissy was in front of me.

It still hurt. God, it still hurt so bad. I felt like I was being torn from the inside out. Nothing was okay. Nothing about this was okay. My heart was being ripped out from my chest and I had no clue how to keep it there. Maybe it was being shattered, just like glass.

Anna shushed me, holding onto me as I cried into her shoulder on the floor. Even the floor, which was hardwood, felt softer than the blows that Edward made towards my heart and soul. He had torn apart my very soul.

The one that he claimed vampires did not have.

“My Jazzy,” my sister coos into my messy hair, “What happened, Major?”

She was the only one who was allowed to call me that. When she did use it, things had usually gotten bad.

“He,” I couldn’t even say his name. “He called you a  _ monster. _ He said that you were a  _ sociopath _ . He  _ ignored me. _ He didn’t even  _ care _ that he  _ hurt me. _ ”

It hadn’t even been the words that he threw my way that hurt the most. The fact that the man who I considered to be one of my friends, my own brother, had ignored me when I begged for him to stop hurting me. He blamed everyone that I loved. He said that everyone else was making me upset and couldn’t own up to the fact that he was the one that burned me alive.

He held the torch, his selfishness being the flame.

“Oh Major,” she held me close to her chest, “Don’t cry. I’m here and I’ll always love you. I love you so much, Jazzy. You’ll always be my Jazzy man and nobody else can be my Jazzy man. I need my Jazzy man.”

Her words would always soothe me. Everything about her comforted me. I needed her just as much as I needed blood to live.

Although there was no substitute for her love, nothing could replace Anna.

“Hey, Jazzy,” I look up into her red eyes, “Do you wanna meet him? I think that he likes you already. Cute little bugger.”

“Who?” Anna points over to the couch where the little boy sat, staring at the scene in front of him. “What is he? A human child? His skin is so pale.”

“C’mere, baby,” Anna calls out to the young boy, who runs over at the same speed of a vampire. I yelp, not knowing exactly what to do.  _ He smells like us and like a human at the same time. It's not normal. This is weird. This is really weird. Weird handsome child. _

“Jazzy, this is my  _ son _ . No, not  _ biological _ , but he is still my son,” I didn’t know what to make of what was being told to me. “He’s not human and he’s not a vampire, he’s  _ both. _ Before you say that it isn’t possible, it is, it’s just so rare that we don’t know anything about it.”

“Vampires are infertile,” I state.

“Female vampires are, not male vampires. The man had sex with a human woman and got her pregnant. I found her while she gave birth. She did not survive,” Anna’s voice turned somber. “She told me to take her child and raise him as my own. Of course, I always wanted a baby of my own to take care of, so my son was welcomed quite quickly into the family.”

“How did you keep this a secret? The whole vampire world should know by now-” Anna cut me off.

“Why do you think that the Volturi shut their doors? They would think that the child was an immortal and would have killed him. Our coven loves their little prince and has kept the secret inside the walls. I wanted to see you all after we got him, but I knew better. I know that Carlisle said no more secrets, but I knew that this was one that I just had to keep. I hope he doesn’t get mad at me,” I put my hand on Anna’s cheek.

“He could never be mad at you, Anna bear. None of us are ever mad at you. I…” I look at the small  _ hybrid child _ who was right by us, smiling as wide as he could. “It is just a shock to know what could happen to any woman who encounters a vampire with that much control.”

“It was the Romanians. They...god I don’t want to think about what she said. Just know that she loved her son and I love my son,” I growled at the thought of what that woman would have gone through at the hands of such evil people like the Romanians. “How long are you staying?”

“However long you want me to stay, little sis.”

“How does forever sound?”

“Perfect. Forever sounds perfect.”


	37. A Toast to the Volturi

Anna’s POV

After about an hour of introductions, Helios and Jasper were finally getting used to being near each other. Of course, Jasper was the one who needed a bit of coaxing, as he had been in a really dark place, but Helios was willing to wait for his soul uncle. They would learn to love each other just like they loved any other one of their covenmates, as that was what I assumed Jasper wanted.

Forever was what I wanted. No more letters, no more waiting for what my brother was going to say. I wanted him here with me, as a part of my coven. Whether or not my other friends would join the Volturi remained unknown. I wouldn’t want to push any one of them to join just because I would love to see them more often. Joining a coven required that you be willing to accept them as your family.

The Cullens were already a family, albeit an estranged one, as Jasper clearly needed some more love and attention from them. Them joining a new family may be too hard right now. I didn’t know the nitty gritty details, but Carlisle sounded like he wanted to sort things out, not just let things go and cut people off.

That wasn’t the Carlisle that I knew. It would take so much for him to get to that breaking point. I had never even seen him break before. He was always so calm and collected in the way he carried himself, prideful yet humble in his regards to his diet and family.

“So, what do you like to eat, lil’ man?” Jasper asks Helios, who is hugging onto his legs. My son had been growing more, but seemed to slow down a bit after last week. He loved attention, craved it over anything, even human blood.

“Blood is good. Mamma lets me eat cookies after dinner sometimes,” Helios explains.

“You like cookies? What kind?” Jaz questions further.  _ I bet you love this, Jaz. I know that you’re going to feed my son a bunch of cookies and spoil him rotten. God, so is Rose once she finds out. Actually, she might slap me in the face first for not telling her that I have a kid now. I wouldn’t blame her, I would slap her if she did the same to me. _

“Chocolate chip and lemon. Lemons are amazing. I really like lemons,” Although my son’s development was accelerated, he did act like a child in so many ways. He was impeccably smart with a perfect memory, but he did like to point out that he was a baby and that babies deserve cuddles.  _ Sneaky little man. _

“Ooh, I used to love chocolate when I was human,” Helios’ little face lights up. “Do you usually stay in the nest or does mamma let you walk around and play?”

“Mamma always lets me play with my big brothers and sisters. Janey and Alec play with me when they aren’t at work. We like to play in the garden. Janey is super cool! She can make sure that I stay safe by making people  _ hurt _ . Alec can knock them out with his mist! I wanna be like them!” Jasper laughs at the descriptions of Jane and Alec. The three of them really had become inseparable, with Jane taking on a very serious big sister role. Alec was always the one to get him to do mischief. It was cute.

“Why don’t you tell Helios what you can do, uncle Jaz?” I coax my soul brother to spill his secret of being gifted. “I bet little Helios would love to learn about your gift. He knows that two of his daddies are gifted and that his mamma is gifted.”

“Ok,” Helios’ eyes light up again, waiting for the news, “I have the ability to feel other people’s emotions and manipulate them. I can make people calmer or happier and I can feel when people are sad or mad. I get affected by what other people are feeling, good or bad.”

Helios almost squeals, looking very impressed by his newfound knowledge. Just like his mother, he wanted to learn. He wanted to learn  _ everything  _ about  _ everyone _ that came into the castle.

“Guess what I can do?” I shake my head, not knowing what my son was about to do.  _ Maeve! Maeve what is going on?  _ **_Just let it happen, Anna, let it go. Let it go._ ** _ Why are you singing.  _ **_You forget that I know some things about the future. That song has been in my mind for like a week._ ** _ What is Helios about to do, o wise one?  _ **_Not telling you now, Anna, Helios will show you what he can do._ **

Before I had any time to react and ask my son what he was about to do, Helios shot light through part of his shirt, creating a clear rip in the newly washed fabric. I hissed and picked up my son, looking at his hands, which did not have any signs of damage.

“What did you just do, Heelie?” I question my little boy, who smiles awkwardly. Oh, he knew what he was doing and he knew that I didn’t know.  _ You cheeky little one. You cheeky little thing!  _ **_I can’t even tell if you’re talking to me or Helios._ ** _ Honestly, I’m talking to you both! _

“Anna,” Jaz’s voice was soft, “Did you not know that your own son was gifted?”

“ _ No, I did not know that my own son was gifted, Jasper! _ ” I roll up Helios’ sleeve in order to cover the cut that he made in his shirt.

The cut that he had made was not like that of a burn, but it did have some edges that would suggest otherwise. It was mostly clean. The light that came out of his hands had created this cut without hurting him too much. Of course, his skin was much more durable and his blood and bones were laced with venom, making him just as if not more durable than a vampire. Even we did not have venom on our bones, just going through our veins.

“Don’t do that to me again, Helios Volturi,” My son looks down on the floor as I hold him up, checking him all over for any sort of damage. “You scared your mamma.”

“Mi dispiace, mamma. Non volevo spaventarti,” I shook my head.

“Adesso sembri tuo padre. Non tirare fuori il tuo regalo senza nemmeno informarmi che ne hai uno,” Helios giggled at the comparison and I kissed his raven hair. “You look too cute to be mad at, you know that, Piccolo Principe?”

“I do now, mamma,” Helios giggled as his father entered the room. The same father that I had compared him to cleared his throat before smiling at his son.

“While I am glad that you all look like you are having a grand old time in our nest, I will need to inform you that everyone is meeting in the throne room for a coven meeting. Jasper, you will be present for this meeting. Helios, my son, come with me,” Aro guides Helios out of the nest before allowing Jasper and I to walk after him.

The halls of Volterra were much livelier now that Helios had graced them with his life. Most of the guards that had once done their jobs with scowls on their faces were happy to work in the presence of their prince. While morale had never been an issue, some newborns didn’t have it in them yet to work nicely on a feeding schedule, constantly hungry and therefore annoyed with life and their immortality.

My hunger had been dying down a bit, my body finally realizing that it would get food on Fridays. I was still in no way a normal vampire. I was still a newborn and still got urges to go out and hunt during the week, but now they were much less stressful.

Our throne room was one that held many small secrets. It had been built when the Volturi moved to Italy and wanted a place to put their old thrones. Of course, my kings had to have their egos built up upon their thrones, so they made the steps lead up right to them. It made them seem more  _ powerful _ . To me, it just made us seem like  _ pompous idiots _ , but of course nobody would listen to the voice of reason in the household. We just don’t  _ talk _ about that.

All of our guards were hanging out in the room after being called, just happily chatting away. This was the Volturi that the rest of the world did not know about, the one that held so many bonded family members. We would never seperate people who loved each other. I mean, Demetri and Felix were soul brothers, who would ever separate them? Or Santiago and Afton, who were an odd pair of soul brothers who picked on each other as much as they helped each other.

Even the members of the Volturi that did not guard the castle were here. Many mated couples that worked as a form of vampire social services were here, chatting away with their guard friends that would accompany them on their journeys. Of course, literally everyone was here in the castle at the moment, nobody was allowed outside of Volterra until further notice. They understood and were all informed of the reasons behind this.

I sat on Marcus’ lap on his throne, where he kissed my cheek. “I do think that you will like this meeting, tesoro.”

“Will I?” I pose the question. “Are you going to keep me in the dark, amore, or are you going to tell me  _ now _ ?”

“The dark is a wonderful place for vampires,” He teases. I scowl and turn back to all of my covenmates, who had now stopped talking and were waiting for the announcement.

Most of them had already taken notice of the arrival of the Olympic Coven. Carlisle stuck out like a sore thumb. He had already been a part of their coven once and knew most of the ones that hadn’t been turned in the past few centuries.

“Guards and other beloved members of this coven,” Aro started off with, “I do hope that we are having a fine July afternoon. As you know, we do in fact have visitors. This is due to a soul sibling bound being found in one of Carlisle’s children, Jasper Cullen, with our queen. If you saw or heard of the disturbances this morning, that was the reason. No need to fret, our beloved queen is quite fine now.”

The entire room took in a breath of relief.

“I would like to give you all some good news. It has been quite long since we have had any visitors, but I would like to make the announcement that these visitors will be  _ permanent, _ ” I look at Aro before looking at Carlisle, who was smirking in the crowd, holding his mate in his arms. “Yes, I do think almost all of you know Carlisle. His son Jasper has already agreed to join the coven. As has his daughter and her mate, Emmett. I do believe that this will be good for us. As you know, Carlisle has and always will be a good friend of mine. His impeccable control is what we all strive for in this coven.”

“You are much too kind, Aro,” Carlisle jokes.

“No, Carlisle, do not cut yourself short. You have more control than everyone in this room combined,” Some of the guard lets out a few chuckles.  **_Someone was being an ass while Carlisle was there and threw a bucket full of blood on him. He wasn’t phased at all and just washed it off._ ** _ Who did it?  _ **_Caius, obviously._ ** _ Why am I not surprised? _

“A bucket full of blood?” I whisper. Marcus puts a hand over his own mouth to stop himself from laughing.

“Oh, lord, that was so funny,” He comments.

Nobody in the room seems to notice Marcus and I’s little conversation, their focus on my raven-headed mate.

“Let us be proud to welcome back Carlisle Cullen into the arms of the Volturi!”


	38. Toodles, Little Dick

The ties of a coven were important. They are the ties that bind us, that make us whole. A coven is a family filled with different ties. Just for us, we call them our bonds. All of mine have carried me, kept me safe and loved. A bond was what made me a queen.

Such fickle things, bonds. How they could make or break what a person can become is still not only unusual, but magical.

Most of the Cullens had chosen to take on a diet of blood bags instead of feeding on humans directly. I’m pretty sure Rose did it out of pure spite towards Edward and his animal blood supremacy. The only Cullen that stayed with their way of animal blood was Carlisle, who had been given the option to drink from a bag of animal blood instead of having to go out hunting all of the time.

It was the only option that he seemed to take when it came to blood. He said that I was right on extermination animals, that his diet could make creatures go extinct.

That small victory was enough for me.

“Anna,” Rose called out from across the hallway. With her newly red eyes, her red lipstick really did match her. “Am I allowed to bake cookies for your son or has Jasper just been doing that behind your back?”

I groaned at the knowledge.  **_I did tell you that he would love cookies. You can’t say that I didn’t warn ya, Anna._ ** _ Did you even mean to foreshadow this?  _ **_Nope, but I knew. And when you know, you know, miss queenliness._ ** _ You and your random sing songs. I swear, if you are just randomly predicting future songs or musicals I am going to lose it.  _ **_We may never know until they come out, darling._ ** _ I hate you sometimes. _

“Maeve told me that he would love cookies, but I didn’t think that she meant Jasper was going to bake him dozens of cookies!” Rose laughs at my horror. “Bake him the cookies if it means that you can spend time with him. He’s half vampire, he can’t get heart disease or get fat. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be seen with a fat hybrid child. That would look really bad on my part.”

“Hun, I wouldn’t want to be the one who  _ made _ the hybrid fat in the first place,” She swings her hair along, “I’ll be back in an hour with some sugar cookies! Love you!”

“Love you too!” I replied back, watching as she ran down the hall and into the kitchens.  _ These poor human servants, constantly seeing people go in there to make my child cookies. Hopefully they know that the Cullens don’t drink from humans.  _ **_They don’t. I think that Emmett is going to write a note explaining that to them so they stop getting scared when they go in there._ ** _ Good, they get scared even when I go in there. _

Most of our days were spent inside, as we didn’t want to risk any exposure of our little boy. Helios did play in the gardens with the twins, but that was because it was cut off with huge ferns and brush. No human or vampire would be able to see him. The way to the outside was also but off and too high for any vampire to jump over. We had made sure that things were secure for the young prince.

I mean, nobody would want to be cooped up inside for months on end. Especially kids.

It had been a week since the Cullens joined the Volturi and we couldn’t be happier. The one problem was that we would have to go back soon to Forks in order to get the rest of Jasper and the group’s stuff. They had barely packed anything and still needed their important belongings.

We were ready for whatever hell the leftover Cullens paid us. We had dealt with the Romanians, we could deal with pissy overgrown cats.

All of us could handle Caius, afterall.

“What do you think Edward and Isabella will do when they realize that we are going to get people’s belongings at their reception?” Aro asks me from my right side. I giggled, knowing that Maeve had wanted me to get back at them all by showing up after the wedding to get the stuff.

She said I would show up  _ at _ the wedding. I denied it.

I never said anything about  _ after  _ the wedding.

“I think that Bella, she’ll call me a liar, and then I’ll call her a whore, and then we will go inside and get our shit and leave. Honestly, Edward might attack if we are alone and away from humans. We can sneak in the house and wait for people to notice. People are going to have to wear some contacts in order to be around this many humans,” I theorize. Aro smirks, knowing just how much he wanted to screw with the rest of the Cullen clan for not only hurting Carlisle, his friend, but his mate through her soul brother.

I mean, Jasper was technically his soul-brother-in-soul but we just don’t talk about that.

“I just realized that if Carlisle is like my dad, he’s your soul-father-in-soul. That is…” Aro groans at the thought.

“Some things we just don’t need to point out, il mio amore. Does that mean that I start calling him dad as well?”

“Please don’t.”

__________________________________________________

_ August 13th, 2006 _

_ Forks, Washington, United States of America _

I would have expected us to be bombarded with questions. I mean, I technically was still a missing person. The only person who had noticed us was an old lady that I didn’t remember the name of. I just told her that I moved in with my  _ boyfriend _ and didn’t want to do long distance. She was happy to know that I was with a Greek man who lived in Italy.

Old ladies, amirite?

The wedding had been moved to a church, since Carlisle was not there to authorize a wedding in his backyard like before. The wedding reception would be held in the backyard, as Edward had technically been locked out.

People would literally need to use the garage bathroom.

Edward was living in a fantasy world. He had been calling everyone nonstop and wouldn’t let up his idea that somehow I was an evil monster and that I would ruin their lives if they stayed in contact with me. He even tried to insinuate that I would ruin them if they even spoke well of me.

I would think it would be the damn opposite, Eddie Boy.

We had successfully gotten into the house. It had taken so long to find a way in that would not cause attention that most of the humans had already left. This put Carlisle at ease, as less humans meant less residents that he would have to make up a story for. He hated lying to people, even if it was for their own safety. Carlisle did want them to stay away from any potential fight.

From what we had watched, the place had been nicely decorated and had some good snacks. Of course, the humans would have eaten them all.

The one problem we could come across while doing this little mission was that the Denalis were here.

And they hated the Volturi.

“I’ll get all of our photo albums, babe,” Emmett whispered to his mate, who was picking out all of her favorite pieces of priceless jewelry. Some of these must have been almost a million dollars. Vintage, of course, and rarely worn unless she had something important to go to.

“Aro, can you go upstairs and get my degrees?” Carlisle asks my mate, who nods and carefully runs upstairs to his room.

Their scents had faded from lack of use. After a month, a scent was basically gone, erased from the world like it never existed. It did help us in the long run, because nobody could compare scents from the house to our own bodies. Of course, Edward did not yet know my scent. He wasn’t the best tracker in the world and would be unable to find me through my scent.

Unfortunately, he had found us all through our  _ thoughts _ .

Who would have known that those could be heard through windows and walls? I mean, has he ever even heard of privacy? This isn’t even his house anymore. He has no right to the Cullen name anymore. Practically disowned, he had been.

“What the  _ hell _ are you all doing here in our house?” Edward sneered at us. I heard Aro and Marcus laughing from wherever they were in the house. Caius stood beside me, ready to attack if he needed.

_ Well you see, you fucking bitch, I have something called authority over you and my covenmate’s houses, although I don’t use it because we all live in Italy under the same house. We are here to pick up belongings. We won’t be long, little dick, just passing by. Pretend you never saw us here. _

“For someone who’s calling me a dick, you sure do have quite a few up-” Before he could get any worse, Carlisle intervened.

“If you dare finish that sentence, Edward, I am going to rip you apart and show you how to respect your queen. Never would I think that you would treat a woman with such disrespect. Did I teach you to behave like a man in the damn 1640s or did I teach you what would happen if you spew your malice?”

“You broke into my house-”

“ _ My house, Edward, this is my house that I paid for because you don’t have a job and have no money to your name. _ ”

“Fine, you broke into my wedding!” Rose comes running down the stairs with Emmett following. Both of them snarl when they see their former covenmate. “You said that she wasn’t going to ruin my wedding, that she wasn’t going to be at my wedding-”

“I never said anything about the reception, bitch,” I snark. My covenmates cackle, almost unable to hold themselves upright. “Maeve really does know how to make some damn fine loopholes, doesn’t she?”

“You ruin everything!” Edward yells.

“No, I make everything more  _ difficult _ for  _ rulebreakers  _ and  _ criminals _ . Yeah, that does ruin a lot of things, but it doesn’t ruin everything. I mean, I didn’t ruin making cookies. I didn’t ruin mates. I didn’t ruin myself. Don’t  _ generalize _ or you will look like a  _ fool _ , Edward,” the telepath in front of me growls.

**_So like, I did you a favor and cut him off from your thoughts. Don’t ask, I just did. Makes things better for you anyways._ ** _ But...but I can’t make him look like a fool now.  _ **_Just call him a fool and you’ll be fine, babes._ **

“How could you?” Edward turns to his sire. “How could you  _ join them _ ? Our  _ enemies. _ ”

“The Volturi have many enemies, but you will never be one. I will never be an enemy of my friends and my family. I have told you what happens when you disregard the law and you just don’t care as long as it keeps Bella human. Guess what, Edward, sometimes you just have to figure out that the adults are talking,” Carlisle looks quite bored, ready to go already.

“It’s that woman. The woman who can change the bonds-” Marcus and Aro roll their eyes and groan. Aro had come down from Carlisle’s bedroom and now was able to watch the scene in front of him, Jasper at his side.

“No, you asinine fool, it is not Chelsea. God, Edward, can’t you see why I left? Why did I stop being a coven leader? I am blind. I have always been blind. Ever since I have created this coven, I have allowed you to get away with everything. I did it because I was an  _ idiot _ , not because I was  _ nice. _ I see that now,” Aro scoffed at the idea that his friend was somehow an idiot.

“I would not be friends with an idiot,” Aro declares.

Edward snarls again at my mate. Thankfully, I did not have to see Bella come in.

I had to see Alice come in.

“What are you all doing here?”  _ What, did she not know?  _ **_The Volturi are quite unknown to her and she cannot relate to so many of you because your gifts do not work in the way that hers does. I have also made a small shield. I don’t like her. She focuses on one outcome and one outcome only. She has hurt Jasper as well. I like him._ **

“Getting our stuff and we will be out of your hair. I promise,” Jasper grabs the bag of stuff he had gotten from his room

“You’re _leaving_?” She almost sounded hurt. “Jasper, we’re married-”  
“Get the damn divorce papers then,” Jasper deadpanned. He was done with her. He couldn’t go back to her, not after she had neglected him and joined in on the Anna hate gang.

It was at that moment that Isabella  _ Masen _ had come in. Of course, she would be calling herself Bella  _ Cullen, _ but we all knew Carlisle was not going to be happy with her either.

“Volturi,” she yelps, looking at my mates, who were now situated around me. Marcus ran his hands through my hair before he kissed my head lovingly. Caius held one of my hands as he glared at the newlyweds and the seer.

“Go away, Isabella,” I glared at her.

“What the hell is wrong with you all? What did you do to her?” She questions.

“I turned her,” Marcus admits.

“I stole her innocence,” everyone groans as Caius smirks at the girl, looking proud of his accomplishment.

“I…” Aro looks at me and then looks at the rest of the group. “I shouldn’t share that information.”

“No, go on,” Emmett ushers, “Do tell.”

“Emmett!” Rose hits her mate on the back of the head.

“You would choose sex over humanity? Over children that you so desperately wanted?”  **_So who’s gonna tell her-_ ** _ Not me.  _ **_Not me either._ **

“I mean the sex was spectacular but that just isn’t the point-” I cut myself off. Aro and Caius smirk. Carlisle bangs his head against one of his degrees, not needing to know that information. “I mean, kids are great, but the pregnancy sounds awful. It isn’t personal, Isabella, but I find my mates better than cheap telepathic dicks. You’ll find out that he probably doesn’t compare.”

“You!” Bella points to my mates, who were giving me lots of attention as I insulted them. “She chose you three over me, over us. We were her friends, I considered her my sister, but she chose you over me! You are the ones who corrupted her. Annalise was doing amazing in Forks. She had the chance to be human. You ruined her. I hope you're happy."

“Would you get mad if I said that we are happy?” Marcus snarks, taking in a sharp breath. Bella lets out a screech and tries to throw a lamp at my mates and I. I growl, running up to her, grabbing her by the throat.

“I will do exactly what I did to Edward if you do that. The only problem is that you are human and you will die if I do that. Go ahead, live a good life with Edward, have sex. I bet he can’t even do it,” I knew the consequences of that, but she deserved it. She deserved to be confused over a pregnancy with a vampire.

It was my punishment for her.

“We can leave, we have all that we need, Anna,” Jasper announced.

“Toodles, little dick.”


	39. Birthday Cheer Brought to you by Edward Cullen

To collide with your own mind is beyond frustrating. Finding yourself unable to account for yourself may be worse. What was I but my own knowledge mixed with the experiences I had? Without that, I was but a queen without cause, without the ability to bring justice to those who had broken our very sacred laws.

A crown made of paper, written with corruption and deceit, that is what I would hold on my head if I was found without my own wit.

Finding myself had already proven to come naturally. Most people took years, decades, to find out who they really were. For me, I had already found out at the ripe age of 18.

This year I will not have a party. A birthday without a party was one I already knew too well. Locked inside the castle, none of the guards could throw a big celebration in my honor. It was better knowing that my mates wanted to spend the day with me and Helios.

Dated August 30th, 2006, our castle had gone through many renovations. Our halls often found themselves filled with cheerful guards and waiting missionaries of the law, our law. The Volturi were not in low spirits, no, they always found a way to get through tough times. Even when we found ourselves locked inside our home with no way to see our outside friends, we had ways of finding enjoyment in the thick walls of Volterra.

Today I would be able to see the sun for the first time in two weeks. Of course, I had my own little ball of sun right on my lap, but the real thing did feel nice on my porcelain skin.

“Mamma, what do people do on the day that they are born? Like, the years after?” A question posed by none other than my son, who had not yet celebrated a birthday.  _ I sometimes forget that you’re only about three months old. You grow so fast. You look like you’re five, little man. Although, you do talk a lot smarter than children your physical age. I see that my vocabulary has rubbed off on you. Poetic child of mine. _

“They commonly celebrate with those that they love, but this year we cannot have a big party. We must make sure that you are safe, my baby,” Helios snuggles into my chest, but I can tell that he is upset that there will not be a party. Little sneaky pants knows that parties mean cookies and cookies mean that he gets to eat them.

“Can I have a party when I turn one? I want a party!” I laugh and kiss his little head. His hair had grown much longer than I originally expected. Although not biologically related, Helios did have a striking resemblance to Aro, who he shared many physical features with. I did have to say that his personality did remind me more of a mix between Caius and Marcus.

A dastardly combination indeed.

“We shall throw you a birthday party once things are safe for you. Once the world knows about their little prince, they will be delighted to come to your party. We can have anything that you want there, little man,” Helios cheers at the proposed party of his.  _ Such a wild child. I wonder if other hybrids are this wild. _

“Do I hear of a  _ party _ , i miei amori?” Marcus’ voice rang out through the hallways.  _ My sweet baby. I love you. _

“Just a future party, amore,” my mate kisses my cheek before sitting down next to me, purring as he runs his hands through my brown hair. Helios is curled up on me and just giggles at the affections to me from his father, who pats his head before returning to stroking my silky hair.

“I can’t wait for it. Although I do believe that my brothers are waiting outside for us,” I groan, knowing that I would have to move my little sunshine off of my lap and have him walk with me to the gardens. “I’ll carry Helios, amore.”

Allowing my mate to take our son, I stand up, ready to walk to the gardens of the castle/

Our gardens really were something to behold, with the ponds and the jade grass that surrounded them. Most of the time we would have human servants tend to them, but I knew that some of the guards watered the plants during their free time. The place was full of flowers and fruit that Helios loved to pick and eat while he was here. I had never gotten the chance to experience the place as a human, but as a vampire it was gorgeous, my red eyes not knowing where to look first.

“Cara mia, you finally grace us with your glorious presence,” I could tell that Caius was annoyed that we had come later than expected.

“Leave our mate alone, Caius, she isn’t that late,” Marcus defends me. Aro just stayed quiet, allowing Helios to jump up on his lap and give him a hug.

My mate left it alone after he saw Aro shaking his head at him. Instead of any further comments, my blonde mate kissed my cheek, pulling me on his lap. They had set up quite a nice picnic. All of the blood smelled fresh and the three of them had even made Helios cookies for the occasion.

“Mamma, how old are you?” My son asks out of nowhere. I could see my mates visibly tense. “I wanna know.”

“I’m 18 today, Heelie,” I inform my young son, who’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Not that bad of an age.”

“18,” Helios ponders, “What an age to be alive at.”

“You speak as if you aren’t going to be alive at 18, son,” Aro laughs. Helios gives a wicked smile and Aro gasps. “Do not say such things. You will be alive and well at 18 just like your mother.”

“But Mamma isn’t alive. Mamma is dead like you, daddy,” I chuckle at my son. “What is it like to be dead, daddy?”

“We do not have heartbeats, blood, or the ability to eat cookies, but we are more or less the same. Although, normal alive people like humans do not drink blood, as they already have it in their system. You drink blood because you have venom, just like dead people like your mamma and your daddies,” Aro explains to the child on his lap.

“If you and everyone around this place are dead and have venom like me, does that mean that I am dead?” It was a reasonable question posed by a smart little hybrid.  _ Didn’t think we would have to explain this today. _

“Half-dead, just like you are half-vampire,” I was lucky that Helios did not question us further on the subject of being half vampire. Having to speak to him and explain his mother was difficult. He knew that I was not his biological mother, as we had learned that he remembered his own birth, but he did not fully understand that what he was, what he really was, did not make sense to most people.

“Cookie?” Marcus hands Helios one of his favorite cookies, the ones that Rose and Jasper made together. We had found out that lemon really was his favorite flavor of human food in general. He did not like many other human foods and mostly preferred human blood.

“Always,” Helios giggled as he bit into the cookie, humming away on Aro’s lap, swaying side to side. Passing my son his cup of blood, I grab my own and take a sip.  _ Perfect. _

“I do believe that we have to give mamma her gift,” Marcus announced to us. Aro and Caius’ smile’s turned to dark smirks as their brother brought out a small box. “I do hope you know that this is not just from us, but from everyone. I know that we were not able to give you a party like we should have-”

“Amore, you never have to give me  _ anything _ , being with my coven is enough.” Marcus sighed and handed me the box.

Inside the small black box was a crest not unlike the one that I was wearing around my neck. Adorned with many more jewels and a picture of a tree in the middle, it spoke to me. At the top there were four jewels: a ruby, a sapphire, an emerald, and a yellow diamond. They were the colors of my mates and of my son, who had taken a liking to the color.

“This is too much,” I choke out, putting on the crest. It was so much more colorful than the normal Volturi crest.

“We can never do enough for you, tesoro,” Marcus says.

“We love you, mamma,” Helios jumps off of his father’s lap and runs over to hug me. I smile at my son before hugging him back.

“I love you all so much.”

__________________________________________________

“Payback certainly is a bitch.”

Word had already gone around the Volturi that Isabella Swan had gotten pregnant with a hybrid child.  _ The fucking bastard actually did it. _

“The worst part about it all is that Edward actually wants me to  _ go back _ and help him while she’s pregnant. He’s trying to guilt trip us all into coming back,” Carlisle sighed.

“He even tried it on me. Edward actually had the audacity to use what happened in my past as a reason that I should come back, as a reason that I should help out Isabella. I don’t give a shit how bad things could get for her, you don’t just use something like that to get someone to work with you. In fact, it just makes me want to work with him less. I already have a hybrid baby to spoil,” Rosalie flipped her hair in the sunlight and laughed. “I mean, it’s not like he has medical degrees or something that he could use.”

_ The worst part about it really is that the Volturi warned him and he just didn’t listen. We all told him that Bella had to be turned. We said that she had to be turned or else she would die. He literally just proved our point, completely invalidating his viewpoints. _

“I mean, look at the letter that he sent me,” Rose pulls out a letter that must have been from Edward, likely having come in a few days ago. I grabbed the letter so that I could read it out loud:

_ Dear Rose, _

_ Things have gotten bad around here. Bella is pregnant and I know that you wanted to be a mom. You would know more than anyone what I feel like right now. I need you here. I know that we have different views on what is right and wrong, but I need you here right now. We’re siblings. _

_ The Volturi have a hold on you right now, but just think of the baby. Think about your niece. She could be like the child that you never got to have. I know that being a vampire took that away, but now you have the chance to help me raise a child. _

_ Bella is going to die unless I turn her at the last second. It will be hard, but I know that we can do it. Alice says that it will happen. Her visions on you are blinded by something. By what, I have no clue. Whatever gifted people are there are blocking her out.  _

_ I wouldn’t be writing to you unless I needed the help. You can still be good, do good in this world, even as a vampire. _

_ Come home, _

_ Edward C- _

“Don’t you dare say that,” Carlisle was angry with it, I knew. The fact that Edward was still trying to use his old last name was infuriating. I mean, my father was on the verge of just changing his name to Volturi to stop being associated with Edward. Why he couldn’t just accept the fact that he didn’t want him in his life was unknown.

I mean, none of us wanted him in our lives, not after what he had done.

“She should be giving birth soon. Maeve said that the pregnancies last about a month. They must have had sex on their wedding night,” I inform. “It’s September 6th, so that leaves us at less than a week for her to be on parr.”

“That poor kid, with those two as parents. I would rather just not be alive.”

“You and me both, Rose.”


	40. All Bonds Completed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Smut

A life, a love, a dream, it meant nothing in the face of the law. Unfortunately I was one of the people who had to dish out the punishments. As much as I hated it, it had to be done. If I didn't do it with my mates, who would? We would be lawless. Humans would not be able to survive more rulers like the Romanians, who really didn’t rule at all, just stood up, called themselves kings, and allowed the vampires to kill whoever they pleased.

“When should we announce our son to the world? Edward and Bella will no doubt reveal the existence and nature of hybrid children,” my father asked me. “I would not wish to have them be the first ones to make the impression of my grandson. I mean, Edward and Bella cannot be that great of parents and I would not want people to get the wrong impression of what hybrids are and how they act. Helios is a well behaved child.”

“Wild, but surprisingly well behaved. I don’t think I’ve heard him tell us no once,” I mused. “You know what would make them look even worse? Letting them make a fool of themselves with the child and then having us swoop in to give them advice. I mean, they have no clue how to raise a kid. From what Bella told me, she didn’t ever want to have kids with anyone, let alone a vampire like Edward.”

“Imagine all of us looking like we were going to come attack only to whip out a hybrid child of our own,” Carlisle laughs at the thought. “It would make them look like idiots.”

“Don’t they already look like idiots?”

“Most definitely.”

__________________________________________________

Out of all the time that I spent with my mates, the time that we spent in the nest was most memorable. Of course, that was to be expected, as we did almost everything in there, but the place had its own way of calming us down when we needed a break from the world, from the law, and from our other covenmates. A space of peace.

Aro and Caius had decided that they would watch our son outside, making sure that he didn’t get himself into any mischief while teaching him how to swim. I would have been there, but I was already stressed and wanted to give my mates a chance to spend time with him away from the nest and without my supervision.

Stress was something that came easily for me.

Boredom came even easier, often taking over my life while away from work.

“Marcus,” I whined at my mate. He was sitting at the desk, doing some paperwork that he had been putting off like usual. Before I came he had been slacking in his job, too depressed to do any of his actual job, usually just coming back to his room and staring at the wall. Now, he had to pick up his kingly duties again, much more motivated to do so this time.

“Anna,” He whined right back, “What is wrong?”

“I’m  _ bored _ ,” I say, getting up from the bed. I sped over to where he was sitting at the desk and stood over him, looking down at his paperwork.  _ Just a bunch of vampire registry. Boring. Why does life have to be boring now? _

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about that, tesoro, I have things to do.” I groan at his dismissal. “If I could get through my paperwork any quicker, I would, amore.”

“You don’t have to do it all now, baby,” Marcus gave me a glare before going back to his work. My strategies clearly were not working on him today. He usually would just cuddle with me when I wanted him to.

I would just have to try harder. He wasn’t going to ignore his mate for any longer.

“ _ Marcus _ ,” I whined again. I just needed him to turn his head to me. I just wanted to see his pretty face. “Put down the work and have fun with me.”

My mate didn’t budge, clearly trying to ignore my advances.  _ What do I do? I want him to respond but he just-ugh, this is the worst. Maeve, bitch I need you right now. Give me advice.  _ **_Just play with his hair and touch his neck. I promise, it will work. I mean, did you not hear what Alexandros said?_ ** _ I mean, he’s sensitive, but what is that supposed to mean? I’m sensitive.  _ **_Oh lord I am going to die a-I’m just going to die if you don’t start to get more-_ ** _ Shush, lemme do this.  _ **_Aight, call if you need any help with your mate._ **

Doing just as Maeve instructed, I started to entertain myself by playing with his hair, sometimes pressing light touches to his neck. I could hear him growl under his breath as he tried to keep focus on his work. I worked my way down to his nape and he hissed, whipping his head up to meet my red eyes.

“What are you doing?” He questions, his eyes darkening.

“Entertaining myself with your hair since you won’t stop working,” I say, kissing his cheek. He lets out a low hiss and turns back around. Somehow I was breaking his focus, meaning that what Maeve had told me to do really was working.  _ Just be with me and have fun with me! I’m bored. _

It only took him about a minute to crack again, letting out a string of hisses as I caressed his neck, the place where his friend said he was sensitive.

“ _ Anna _ ,” He breathed, “ _ Do not do that if you do not know of the consequences. _ ”

“Oh, what  _ are  _ you going to do, Marcus?  _ Stop doing your work? _ ” I tease. My mate tenses, looking me dead in the eye. I touch the nape of his neck once more.

Before I could even think Marcus lets out a growl, leaving his chair. He grabs me, slamming me against the hard wall. I groan at the twinge of pain in my back as it collides with the painted stone wall. My shoulders flexed as they healed themselves, all likely cracks repairing.

“ _ Innocence _ ,” Marcus whispers into my ear, pinning my arms above my head, “ _ You have no idea what I am going to do with you. _ ”

I shivered under his hold. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed at me or  _ something else. _ I prayed for the latter.

The latter would end much better for me.

“You know, you’re such a  _ tease _ for someone who is so  _ innocent _ ,” Marcus’ entire body loomed over me, asserting dominance in this situation. I gulped, not knowing what he was going to do next. Marcus was often unreadable and unpredictable, his mood shifting more often than Caius’.

I had no time to react as my mate pushed me harder against the wall, lifting me up. I rested on one of his legs, caught and left unable to escape his grasp. When I looked into his normally red eyes, I saw nothing but  _ black. _

Marcus had ripped off my shirt before I had the chance to object, tearing through the silk with ease. Now exposed, I let out a small whine as he started to take off the rest of my clothes, ripping everything and throwing the remains down on the floor. I was left with nothing covering me, with him still fully clothed.

“ _ Fuck, _ ” he swore, growling at the sight in front of him. “ _ Mine. _ ”

The word stuck with me. Well, of course I was  _ his _ . This felt different. This was not the Marcus that I saw during trials or even in our nest while we hung out and cuddled.

_ He was a damn feral animal. _

“ _ Mine _ ,” my mate repeats, ripping off all of his own clothing. Marcus nuzzles himself at my neck before he starts kissing along my jawline harshly. I moan at his attention, egging him on even more.

“ _ Marcus _ ,” I groan out, wanting him to give me more, to stop teasing me and to just  _ get on with it _ .

My mate growls again, kneading at my breasts. I whine as he starts to become rougher with his affection, gripping me harshly as he plays with my body. Nothing could have stopped him in this state from getting what he wanted and giving me pleasure. All of his instincts were taking over with me, his mind clouded with lust.

No words could be exchanged between us as he props me up against the wall, kissing me passionately. Our tongues clashed with each other. I still wanted  _ more _ from him. I wanted for him to  _ take me _ , against the wall or not.

Mouth still on mine, my mate lines himself up with my entrance, using his hands to hold me up against the wall. Making sure that I didn’t fall down on the ground, I wrapped my arms around his neck, keeping our lips together as he pushed himself inside of me.

Unlike Aro and Caius, Marcus waited for nothing, pushing hard into me with all of his might. I couldn’t help the loud moan that came from my mouth, forcing us to end the kiss abruptly. Opening my eyes, I see my mate above me, eyes black and hair messy as he screws me on the wall, showing no mercy.

Animalistic, he pins my hands above the wall as he pounds away into me, leaving me no means to stop the screams that escaped my parted lips.

I had never thought that a man could get this damn  _ deep _ inside of me. At this angle, it felt like he was actually ripping me apart. Given no time to adjust, there was simply nothing to do but cry out his name and let myself feel my own pleasure fully.

Relentless in his thrusts, I whimpered and screamed out his name over and over again, unable to do anything else. My mate growled into my ear and moved at an even faster speed, hitting areas of my core that no other person had before.

“ _ Mine. My mate, _ ” Marcus croons lovingly into my ear, keeping a blissful pace.

I couldn’t respond to him verbally, simply locking my mouth with his in a futile attempt at lowering the volume of my own moans. I heard the wall slowly cracking behind us, likely the result of Marcus’ temperament.

Marcus cuts off the kiss, growling and hissing as he comes closer to the edge of his own pleasure, keeping the same pace as before. The burning in my core burns bright as I feel my own coil snapping, releasing myself on my mate.

Finding myself overwhelmed with pleasure, I instinctually bit my mate’s neck, trying to hold in my own cries of overstimulation as he continued to pound me into the cracking wall. My bite seems to trigger his own orgasm as he snaps his hips one last time, releasing into me.

Once I pulled my teeth out of Marcus’ neck, I realized the implications of my actions.

“Baby, I’m so sorry,” I choke out, peppering kisses to the bite mark that would stay on his body for the rest of eternity. I try to move to see him better, but Marcus just keeps me pressed on the wall, groaning under his breath.

“Shh, don’t be sorry, tesoro,” he soothes, “I was just not...expecting that from you.”

I whimper, knowing that Caius had said that bite marks from other immortals hurt. “Oh god that must have hurt really bad. I-I shouldn’t have done that to you-”

“ _ No, _ ” Marcus whispers into my ear. “ _ You are my mate, your venom will not ever hurt me. You could never hurt me, Anna. _ ”

“That mark will be on your body for the rest of time. I-that’s not okay for me to just do out of nowhere! I should have asked-or at least warned you.”

“Anna, please, do not worry. A bite from a mate is quite normal. A sign that you have  _ claimed me _ ,” Marcus explains, “It was just instinct. Do not fret, I would have said yes anyways.”

Looking into his eyes, I kiss him once more, allowing him to continue propping me up on the wall, his length still hard and still inside of me. I moan out as he starts to move inside of me again, my walls slick and sensitive. While no longer overstimulated, I was still highly sensitive to his touch.

“ _ Marcus _ ,” my mate growls, “ _ More. _ ”

Not more than a second later, Marcus starts to pick up the pace again, hitting my sweet spot dead on. Smirking against my neck, he angles himself so that he hits that bundle of nerves every time, making me call out his name repeatedly.

The wall behind us may have been cracking, but that didn’t matter to us. Both of us were high on pleasure and we needed a release.

My mate’s grip on my hips tightened as I wrapped my legs around his waist, giving him the perfect angle to screw me at. I panted heavily as our hips bumped, feeling that hot coil inside of me build up again, pulling me closer towards my release.

Screaming out one last time, Marcus broke the coil inside of me by hitting my g-spot dead on. My mate hissed, holding onto my hips again as he released inside of me again, pinning me against the cracked wall. My hips burned as I felt new cracks form on them.

Both of us let out low groans as my mate slid out of me. Kissing my head, Marcus took me off the wall. A few seconds of blurred motion later, we were under the blankets, with Marcus holding onto me like I was his lifeline. I smiled, nuzzling myself into his chest.

“I love you so much, Anna,” Marcus whispers in my ear.

“I love you so much as well, Marcus.”


	41. Prince of Egypt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ:
> 
> Fottuto pezzo di merda! You fucking piece of shit!
> 
> Ti ammazzo, cazzo! Nessuno scherza con i miei dannati capelli e se la cava! Io sono un re! I'll fucking kill you! Nobody messes with my damn hair and gets away with it! I am a king!
> 
> Osi presentarti qui per il processo e attaccare il dannato giudice, giuria e carnefice? Dovrei darti un dolore peggiore di quello che la mia dannata figlia potrebbe mai darti! Un fottuto fallimento di un vampiro, lo sei. Non vorrei essere tuo padre. Implorerò di essere distrutto se il mio padre mostrasse così tanta mancanza di rispetto per i loro governanti. You dare show up here for trial and attack the damn judge, jury, and executioner? I should give you worse pain than my damn daughter could ever give you! A fucking failure of a vampire, you are. I would hate to be your sire. I would beg to be destroyed if my sired showed this much disrespect for their rulers.
> 
> Αγάπη μου, ηρέμησε και ας προχωρήσουμε στη δοκιμή. My love, calm down and let us proceed with trial.

“What did you two do to the wall?!” Was all that I could hear as Caius came rushing over to the side of the cracked wall, gawking at what Marcus had done hours before. “You damned  _ heathen _ , Marcus! I would have thought after 2000 years that you would get better at  _ not _ destroying the walls when having sex!”

“I was out of practice,” Marcus defended his actions.  _ Out of...oh….oh my poor Marcus...that was his first time having sex in like 2000 years. _

“The paperwork did not get done I presume,” Aro looks at the paperwork that was still on the desk, unfinished. “I see having sex with Anna and breaking the walls in our nest is more important than your role as a king.”

“Ok, in my defense, Anna was the one who seduced me while I was trying to work,” I squealed as he threw me under the bus. “We can get the damned thing mended, Aro, don’t be such a priss about it.” 

“You,” Caius pauses, looking at Marcus, “You are a  _ heathen _ . How hard were you two going at it? Cara mia, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“No, baby, he didn’t hurt me. My baby Marcus would never hurt me.” Marcus purred at my words and nuzzled his head into my bare chest. “Are you going to scent all over me now?”

“Yes,” he mumbled, rubbing his head around to get rid of his blocked up pheromones. God, it was difficult to have those now. I always felt like I had to rub myself all over the place in order to get comfortable again. I wasn’t rolling anymore, I was just rubbing my face over their chests all the time. “You’re comfy.”

I swooned at his words, covering myself further in the blankets with Marcus. We were both almost swallowed whole by our cozy silk sheets as Marcus purred into my chest. My two other mates let out groans at our closeness. My heart almost started back up when I took a sniff of the blankets that were now soaked with Marcus’ scent.

“Did you even care to consider the fact that if you break the soundproofed wall, the room is no longer soundproof? People could have heard you two going at it like rabid animals! Or worse, our two month old son could have!” Caius reprimands the two of us. Marcus just snuggles himself into me and ignores his brother and his cries of protest. “We need to get this damn wall replaced before everyone realizes just how insane we are in here. Mostly you, Marcus. God, this wall! What did the wall ever do to you, Marcus?”

“It served its purpose,” Marcus mumbles, moving the blanket completely over his head. I doubt that he wanted to listen to his brother, who was throwing a hissy fit over replaceable walls.

“Leave my baby alone, Caius, he just wants snuggles,” Marcus nods his head underneath the sheets, holding onto me gently. “Don’t act like you didn’t want snuggles after we completed the bond. Allow your brother to get my snuggles and do something else with your time that does not include hypocritically harassing Marcus.”

My blonde mate lets out another cry of protest as he sits down and starts to finish the paperwork that his brother gave up on doing to go do another thing.

Me.

“You three are going to be the death of me,” Aro mumbles, picking up a book out of the bookshelf. Sitting down to read, he made no further protests.

__________________________________________________

Our next trial was one for memory, as three of the people who had been accused of a crime thought it wise to pull at my blonde mate’s hair when they attacked him. Anyone who messed with his hair, even sometimes me, could be on his bad side for the rest of eternity. Of course for me I had the mate pass and he could never be truly mad at me.

“Fottuto pezzo di merda!” my blonde mate shouts at the newborn vampire, gripping off his arm with ease. “Ti ammazzo, cazzo! Nessuno scherza con i miei dannati capelli e se la cava! Io sono un re!”

I cringe at my mate’s anger on Marcus’ lap, hugging him for some comfort. I hated seeing my mates angry, whether it be at me or at someone else. It meant that they weren’t happy. All I wanted was for my mates to be happy.

“Osi presentarti qui per il processo e attaccare il dannato giudice, giuria e carnefice? Dovrei darti un dolore peggiore di quello che la mia dannata figlia potrebbe mai darti! Un fottuto fallimento di un vampiro, lo sei. Non vorrei essere tuo padre. Implorerò di essere distrutto se il mio padre mostrasse così tanta mancanza di rispetto per i loro governanti,” Caius raged at the newborn, who cried out as my mate ripped off his other arm, throwing him to the floor in the process.

“Αγάπη μου, ηρέμησε και ας προχωρήσουμε στη δοκιμή,” I try to calm down my furious mate, who was just about ready to tear through everyone in the room if he did not compose himself.

Caius ripped off the newborn's head before sitting back down on his throne, ready for Aro to close the trial and kill the criminals. He was too mad to do it without going crazy in the process. My mate would have to spend some time in the nest after this to cool down.

“I do hope you enjoyed immortality, because it is coming to a close for you now.”

__________________________________________________

The last thing that I was expecting today was mail. Who was there to write to me anyways? All of my family were a part of my coven and we were all having the time of our lives here in Italy.

Of the very few people who would write to me, a likely pissed off Edward and a confused and unknowing Jacob were not who I was expecting to send out mail to me during these tough times.

For the first letter, the handwriting was clearly Jacob’s, a bit messy but readable.

_ Dear Anna, _

_ I have no clue what is going on here anymore. Edward doesn’t want you to know this, but Bella is pregnant and she is dying. We have no clue how this happened, but everyone is blaming Carlisle for not coming back here to Forks. I bet he already told you about the pregnancy, but it isn’t a normal one. How she even got pregnant with that demon is still a mystery. _

_ All they ever do is talk crap about you and your mates. I don’t know what it’s like to have a mate, or for shifters an imprint, but from what it sounds like it's magical and shouldn’t be taken away. I try to stop them from speaking so badly about you but they just won’t listen. You may be a vampire, but from what I saw during your last visit to Forks, when Edward attacked Caius, you are the same Anna that I remember. _

_ I don’t know if Edward ruined Bella or if Edward just showed me that Bella was already ruined. I’ve known her for so long, but she’s changed. She wants immortality more than anything. She wants to be turned. She talks about how much more beautiful she will be. She compares herself to you and your beauty. God, it’s so annoying. Her looks and her body are all she cares about anymore. It was like that before the wedding, but now it is just heightened. _

_ Alice has been joining in on the Anna hate train as well. She thinks that you took Jasper away from her, that you turned him against her. From what it sounds like, she only cares about what Edward and Bella wanted for their family, not what any of the other members of the family wanted. She may be able to see the future, but her vision is flawed. What she does to make things happen just isn’t right. _

_ I wish you were here. I wish that you could be here with that voice of yours. She could tell us what to do. _

_ Please stay safe, _

_ Jake Black, Alpha of the Black Pack _

His words stung. I knew for a fact that I was not the one to force Jasper into a depression that he may have never gotten himself out of. That was Edward and his selfishness, his disregard for the fact that Jasper was suffering in the first place. Nobody could make me angrier than Edward Masen and the way that he hurt Jasper Whitlock Cullen Hale Volturi

The last letter came from the very person that I was upset with. Edward Masen had written a letter to me from the confines of his old house that he was damn squatting in. He had no right to that house, but he still used the old paper that Carlisle would use to write to me, that old parchment that had to be over 100 years old.

I should have ripped the letter up right then and there, but I didn’t, forcing myself to read his letter.

_ Dear the Queen of the Volturi, _

_ I have written to you to ask that you release Carlisle Cullen from your grasps. I know for a fact that he would never leave his family, let alone join the people that used to bully him for his moral ways and lack of interest in murdering humans for food and sport. Whatever you have over him, it won’t be enough. _

_ I come from a place of peace in my heart and mind. I know that you will try to use what has been told to you by many people as a means for my end. It was what you promised. You will never be able to rule after you make your first false ruling, a ruling that is unjust and amoral. You are not the person that I met in the hospital and I hope that someone takes over your position as queen. You are worse than all three of your evil mates combined. _

_ My father is a moral man and would never be with someone like you. My sister is misguided by her vision of who you used to be. My brother is blinded by the emotions around him. He is unable to make decisions for himself right now. _

_ Let my people go, _

_ Edward C- _

I immediately ripped up the letter, throwing it in the guard room fireplace. I couldn’t let him use those words against me and then use his old name, the name that Carlisle allowed him to use. It was not his to use and it never would be. He was Edward Masen, and his wife was Isabella Masen. They would never be Cullens.

The fact that Edward had been using his name for so long made Carlisle furious. He had stopped using the last name over the past week because of how much it made him want to run to Forks and rip Edward’s head off.

Edward Masen was an idiot who had pissed off the one vampire everyone thought could not be pissed off. Carlisle was the most patient vampire in the world and he had been pushed to the brink of homicidal thoughts when he was in the presence of his former son.

It was a damn shame considering just how nice Carlisle was as a father and a grandfather. If Edward had been a better person his child would have a grandfather that was not human.

We would have to deal with the fact that Charlie knew that Bella was not with someone very  _ normal _ later. If someone from the pack exposed us, we would have to kill them all. It was harsh, but even the shifters knowing about us was a gamble. They could expose us to the world. Yeah, maybe people wouldn’t believe them at first, but people would be looking for a way to explain our paintings, the way that we were pale and never aged. It would all come out in the end. The end of our time would come when people knew what lurked in the shadows.


	42. Letters to a Lost Cause

_ Let my people go _ .

The phrase hit me harder than I would have thought. We had watched that movie almost twenty times together. The Prince of Egypt was by far my favorite movie of all time. No other opening song could compare. Edward chose his words carefully, meticulously planning what he would say to me in that letter. This one phrase was a direct hit to what I was, what I could have become if I had never met my mates.

My life could have ended up so much worse if I had never met my mates. A life without them and my new family was just not a life worth living. Wasted. I would have been wasted. My talents would have also been wasted. I likely would have met them once Bella’s child was born. God, what could have happened then?

I knew that if someone had seen Helios from afar, they would have thought that he was an immortal child. He would have been killed. Although, the Romanians would not have been found out yet. My son could have been alive, but he would have been raised to be a monster, a killing machine just on the basis of his gift alone.

The Olympic coven would have likely had to face off with my mates. I would have chosen no side in that dispute. My mates are my mates and even if I didn’t know who they were at heart like I do now, they still had that bond with me.

Edward was playing me as if I was some kind of wicked pharaoh. He did always like to think that he was a moral person and a man who tried to be as holy as possible. It was terrible. Even I could see that when I was friends with him. Playing me off like that filled his own ego, as Moses was sent by god to free the Hebrews from slavery.

I was no slave master and my covenmates were not enslaved.

Morality was something that hit me a little bit different. Of course, I knew my adopted father to be one of the most moral people I had ever known in my lifetime, but other people in this coven had their own sense of morality. Esme, who was well matched in morality, would never harm people if she didn’t have to. Actually, I never would harm anyone unless they attacked first. Attack was not the first thing on my mind when I saw someone I hated.

In my own ways, I was moral.

Over the past 18 years I have met people who show both moral and amoral traits. There is no light and dark, animal vs. human blood. The world will never just be this or that, black and white, night and day. Things had their own ways of coming together and being both. No villain had no redeemable qualities, just as no hero had no flaws.

It was what made us all human. It gave us our own  _ humanity _ . A theoretical humanity, as we were all vampires, but humanity nonetheless.

To claim that I had no qualities that were on the lighter side of the spectrum would be blasphemy. I loved my coven and I loved my mates. That love for them proves just that. He had called me a sociopath, according to Carlisle and Jasper, but in fact I had more love to give to others. I felt love and empathy, disproving that accusation entirely.

What would I be without my love for my family? The love for my son and my mates? Who would I become but a bitter woman with no will to live?

It was what I had become before. I wouldn’t let myself fall down that hole of despair again.

For the first time in months, I started to write my final letter to Edward.

I always had to have the last word.

It was the way of the queen.

The way of a vampire.

But most importantly,

The way of Annalise Volturi.

__________________________________________________

_ Dear Mr. Masen, _

_ As the queen of the Volturi, I regret to inform you that your family has in fact joined the ranks of the Volturi on their own accord. This is a most joyous occasion for our coven, as many members of your old coven have long standing bonds with us through Carlisle Cullen Volturi, who stayed with my mates and many of my children over two centuries ago. _

_ The choice of arrival was one made on emotion, I will give you that. Feelings of despair over the separation of a soul sibling can be brutal and I unfortunately felt the blow just as Jasper had, him sending some of his pain over our bright silver bond. Do not fret over the livelihoods of your former covenmates, they are quite jovial in our midst, already getting used to the new living situations. _

_ Emotions are a fickle thing and can get in the way of many things, including someone’s sanity. Do keep yourself in check when speaking to royalty, we do love to keep ourselves in check as well. Threatening me would do you no good at the present, as I am already plotting out your demise on the inside. Maeve has helped me with this effort and would be most willing to help me with any further Edward destruction plans. _

_ Rosalie has never been misguided by anyone who she believes to be a good person. She never did like you much, so I think that should lay itself out for her own views on you. A good brother to her, you were never, and that has come to light over the past year with your infatuation with your own blood singer. To kill her would be your best bet, although your love would be a tale of undoing. _

_ Happy endings, they are so rare. _

_ My heart and mind will always be set for peace. To hate you was not what I planned, but you have done too much to harm those who put their faith in me. To call one person evil just based on who they are mated to is absurd. As I know you do follow the bible, love thy neighbor as thyself. Although, Maeve would like to add, love thy other coven as thy own coven and shove it up your ass. She always has been a bit more vile, but she is honest and could not have worded it any more compassionately. _

_ A fight for freedom to live freely is always one I wished to take part in, whether it be religious or dietary. The way that I eat does not harm you, leave it alone. People are not what they eat. If that were the case, I would be a human and you would be an animal. While one may not be true, the latter is quite the case. An animal in your attempts at breaking the unbreakable ties that hold soul family together shall be one of great shame and embarrassment. You should pray that I do not tell the rest of the world about this outcry. No other coven would wish to associate themselves with such an abomination to vampires. _

_ Volturi, the name in and of itself means for the vampire world to unify. They come together under our rule and live their lives in harmony. To kill those who disrupt the peace and risk exposure should not be frowned upon. Many other covens help in killing those they see break the law. We live in Italy, but many of us travel all over the world to see the other covens and check in on our allies. We have never been found to be untruthful to those who ask us the right questions. _

_ All of us have our own secrets, even me and you. I just hope that yours does not make you look like a fool. _

_ On the talk of morality, I would have you note that we only kill those who break laws. These criminals have broken such simple rules that even first graders could follow. Don’t make too much noise about your existence, don’t kill large groups, don’t turn children, don’t pull Caius’ hair, don’t mess up Aro’s paperwork. Such simple things. Of course, the last two are for those inside of the coven. Although unofficial, it would be best not to upset any of your rulers further. I am the only one holding them back from torturing you for the rest of eternity. _

_ Just like all vampires, my love is eternal, as is my hate. My traits amplified and set in the stone of these marble floors. _

_ You are no Moses and this is not Egypt. _

_ Last replies, _

_ Queen Annalise Volturi, a lover, not a fighter _

__________________________________________________

At that, a letter fit for a queen was sent out across the ocean. No doubt I would get a reply from someone, but it would not matter. The next one could be from Alice, who had become a prime enemy of my own after she neglected my soul brother. Nobody would hurt him the way that she hurt him again. My Jazzy man deserves all the love in the world, as he could give back just that, endless love and compassion.

_ Do you think that things are going to get better?  _ **_Things will, but it will take time. What is about to come is...blinding. I cannot see it clearly, but I know that it will not be awful. All of the emotions surrounding what is to come blind my foresight. Wait, that is all I can say. Just wait and allow things to come apart for Edward and the other side of the story._ ** _ The story?  _ **_The story of this part of your life will be one remembered by many. All parties involved will remember this for centuries to come. It will be what makes you. The end of one era and the start of another._ **

Maeve’s cryptic message stuck with me as I walked through the doors of the throne room. All of our trials had to be pushed back after a few of the guards had their limbs torn off by a group of newborns with enhanced strength. I would have to see poor Alec in the infirmary, as he had his right arm ripped clean off.  _ My poor misty man. _

“My queen,” Demetri bowed as I entered the infirmary.

“Stop. Just because you’re my guard doesn’t mean that you need to address me as the queen. Not only is it awkward but it makes me feel old,” My guard laughs and pats my shoulder, leading me into where Alec and Afton were laying, getting their arms reattached by our doctor, Lee.

“ _ Mom _ ,” Alec whines, “Why me?”

“You crybaby,” Afton mutters. I gently slap Afton’s left arm as I come over to Alec’s side.

I had never really seen what it took to get a vampire’s arm put back on. I had only torn off Mr. Broody’s arms and legs and left him to his family to put back together. The process didn’t look pretty at all. I didn’t feel bad for what I did, as he did deserve it, but I did feel bad for what happened to my coven children.

“Heelie is going to visit you once he finishes dinner,” I inform him. “Don’t push yourself too much, little man.”

“ _ Mom, _ ” Alec whines in embarrassment. “I’m not  _ little _ , I’m  _ older than you _ .”

“You were turned at like 14, Alec, you will always be younger than me in maturity and physical age. Plus, you’re shorter. You are my little man. Accept it,” I hand him a blood bag. His eyes light up and he grabs it out of my hand, ripping it open and taking a sip. “Lee said that blood would help you recover faster. Make sure that you drink all of the blood bags he gives you.”

Knowing that I was here to visit my  _ two _ children, I pull out another blood bag and give it to Afton, who sips it happily.

Honestly, vampires are more like humans than humans are. Damn chaotic, we are.


	43. Gathering Allies

The date December 14th did not mean anything to anyone in the Volturi. No birthdays, no major events. No, this would be a day like any other if not for the growing child on our minds and in our hearts.

A date that did matter for the Volturi would be that of December 30th, the day that would mark Helios’ sixth month being in our lives. During these past five months we had been cut off, distancing ourselves from all other vampire covens. Most of the vampires that would bring news of rulebreakers understood this as a sign that we were still recovering from battle, as that would often have more of a mental toll on the guards involved. Our allies gave us space while our secrets brewed. The halls of Volterra were now littered with mysteries not yet able to be released to the public.

Today, a frantic young woman had come to us with information. This time Maeve had not told me about her. A visitor was something that the Volturi had to approach with caution. Having our secret exposed would be detrimental to our strategy.

Our throne room had been quite empty, filled with the remains of the lower guards’ meal. Instead of fridays, they would eat on thursdays, as we couldn’t deal with so many drained bodies at once. It made me thirsty to see all of the blood on the marble floor. How people kept the floors pristine was beyond me.

Sitting in our thrones, we had to watch as the young woman was brought in by Demetri and Felix, who looked quite unamused by her presence. Golden eyes, she was an animal eater. From the descriptions given by Carlisle, I could assume that she was from the Denali Coven in Alaska. They didn’t like us much, so having one of them here to report a crime was substantial.

“This is Irina of the Denali Coven,” Demetri rolls his eyes and moves back to the door. “Here to report a crime on behalf of the remains of the Olympic Coven, now led by Edward Masen and his wife, Isabella Masen.”

Irina looked shocked at the use of Edward’s maiden name, as if she didn’t know that Carlisle had disowned him and joined back with the Volturi, his former coven. Her face, although it did reveal her initial shock, was impeccably beautiful, just as all vampires were. The perfect versions of themselves, Irina had the most gorgeous silver white hair. It matched well with her golden eyes. She had a resemblance to Rosalie, although my sister was undeniably more attractive.

“What is the crime that you must report?” I ask, standing up. Caius frowned as I left his lap, choosing to walk over to the golden-eyed vampire woman. “What crime do you believe his coven has committed? What is so grave that you come to us, Irina?”

“Edward and Bella. I know what they did. I don’t know which one of them turned her, but they did it. They created an immortal child,” I remained composed.  _ She saw the child. She saw their daughter. Ah, how this is going to be a shock for you, my dear. _

“A grave accusation, Irina,” Marcus comments, “Do you have proof of such claims? Informed or first hand?”

“First hand,” she answers quickly. “The king, he can read my thoughts and memories. Please, I have seen it, the child, with my own eyes.”

I truly did feel bad for the woman. She was gravely misinformed, but I knew that she had a history with immortal children and did wish that they be killed.  **_Her mother made an immortal child. You know that. She hates them, as they destroy so much and have taken away so much from her. As you know, soul family bonds are eternal. She does not like the Volturi, but she knows that they did what they had to do. The child had to be destroyed or it would slaughter thousands more. Village after village._ **

“Are you sure? I know that it can be quite invasive,” my mate makes sure that she is in fact okay with him seeing everything that has ever happened to her.

“Yes,” she said, allowing him to walk over to her and take her hand. I saw my mate’s eyes glaze over as he saw everything. Pulling back, he nodded.

“We shall conduct a trial on this matter. The law must be upheld. If this girl is in fact immortal, we will need to destroy all parties involved in the matter, as it has been for over a thousand years,” Aro concludes, looking back at his brothers as they sat on their thrones, waiting to be done with it. “As the witness, you will have to be there for the trial. Even if you are wrong about the child, we will not kill you. People can be misinformed sometimes. It happens to the best of us.”

Mercy was not something the Volturi showed often, but we all knew that Irina was wrong about the child. We just couldn’t tell her the truth right now. Everything would come out soon, but we would just have to wait, just as Maeve told us to do.

“Though you may not know, Carlisle has joined back with us. He will be there during the trial and afterwards if you would wish to speak with him. Most of the Olympic coven has joined us. If you ever need to find them, they will be here in Volterra,” I inform the golden-eyed vampire, who just nods as she is escorted out of the throne room.

As the doors to our beloved room close, I can hear Caius let out a deep sigh.

“So are we going to freak them out and march in there with our entire guard or what?” Caius proposes. “Because let’s be honest, I would pay to see that happen.”

“I do believe that is the course of action we are taking,” Aro confirms. “I think that it is time to prepare for this. Gather the rest of the vampires in the world. This is going to be the biggest plot twist in all of vampire history. Hell, this might be the biggest plot twist in all of history. Releasing our own hybrid child on the people. No doubt that Edward and Isabella will be finding their own witnesses, knowing their track record.”

“They could be preparing their own  _ army _ ,” Marcus points out.

“If they are making an army, that would just make them look even more idiotic when we whip out the baby,” Caius retorts. “Helios will be all smiley and nice and then they look like they’re going to try to kill us in front of our own child. Come on, they can’t actually think we are so corrupt as to try and kill a child that is not an immortal killing machine. The hybrids show control and age. As long as they stay with a coven, their existence is not putting us in any danger.”

“Remember, brother, that these are the same people who have been calling us sociopathic killers for the past century. At least Edward has. Okay, maybe just Edward,” Marcus corrects himself mid-argument. “Anyways, they could be gathering their own group of gifted vampires. Any army of that magnitude could cause a problem for us. I am not willing to lose our own people over this.”

Marcus was right. Knowing Edward, he would look for vampires to fight against us. The Denalis would be against us anyways, barring Irina, who just wanted the laws to be upheld. I could see other covens like the Egyptian coven going against us, as the Volturi had gone to war with them many centuries ago and their leader hated us. It was the coven that Demetri came from when he realized that Amun only wanted him to use against the Volturi.

Like the damn sassy bastard he us, Demetri escaped and joined us just to spite his sire.

**_You will not lose if you gather other covens to join in on the trial. Disguise it as needing to do something before announcing something important. Aro has had to do that before when making new laws, often finding himself busy with trials. If you gather other covens just like the remains of the Olympic coven, they will not stand a chance against you. Anna, you have the elite, the most powerful vampires in existence. Barring Benjamin, who you will meet later. Egyptian coven, Amun is hiding him from the Volturi._ **

The newfound information would do us good.  _ Thanks, Maeve.  _ **_Anytime, darling. Also, make sure that you keep Heelie with Afton. He can shield him and his scent. It will be a real surprise if you hide him away with his brother. Dramatic as well._ **

“Aro, send out an announcement to the other covens that we will be meeting in Forks to do a trial and then reveal something to them. Tell them that this visit will be worth it and it is in their benefit to come by our side while we deliver justice. Give them the good ol’  _ we want to make sure that all bases are covered _ shit,” my mates smirk, knowing what I was getting at.

“I’ll send the letters out. What covens? All of them? Personal or formal?” Marcus pesters. “Actually, should you be doing this, amore? You have better relations with other covens than we do since you are new and do not have a  _ reputation _ for being diabolical, angry, or depressed.”

“I can send letters out to the covens that I know. The French and Alexandros’ coven. The rest I have either not heard of or do not know well enough to write a good letter for. Many people in this coven do know them. Every other coven in the world has at least one friend in the Volturi. Have them send out letters to their friends, especially if they are friends with the leaders. It will be much more personal and will help us out,” My mates nod.

“Aro, I can do the letter for Aiko’s coven,” Demetri says. “The Japanese have always been our friends.”

“Of course,” Aro allows. “Felix, you can do the letter for Marlene’s coven. Tell Jane to do the letter for Walter and tell Alec to do the letter for Iris.”

The soul brothers nod and walk out of the throne room to inform Jane and Alec of their new jobs. Even the twins had some relations on the outside. I knew that Walter had quite the gift of his own, being able to manipulate gravity. While Iris did not have a gift of her own, Alec told me how she taught him how to paint and draw.

While Isabella would likely become a much stronger shield after her transformation, we had someone who could break her wall to our powers with ease. Akila really would put a dent in her self esteem. Hell, maybe she would use her gift on Bella without her knowing, allowing Edward to hear her thoughts. It was what made her attractive to him, not being able to read her, and that would be taken away with just a thought on Akila’s part. It wasn’t like she would notice it at first. Nobody knew when Akila used her gift.

A silent killer.

“I shall write to Lauren,” Aro says.

“To Oscar,” Marcus sighs.

“To Eren,” Caius laughs.  _ Yeah, the only damn friend you were able to make in another coven, Caius. Ah, poo, I love you too much to really make fun of you for it, pretty boy. _

“It is settled then?”

“Quite.”

__________________________________________________

_ Dear Alexandros, _

_ Although this is more of a formal address, I will send my thanks for your last letter. It did in fact work on Marcus. I still have no clue what you mean by dungeons and drawers, but I will find out after the events that I am inviting you to. _

_ We were going to have an announcement that would change the future of everyone, but it seems a very important trial must unfold. The remains of the Olympic coven have been accused of creating an immortal child. We have a witness, but we still must get the whole truth. I will accept nothing but that. _

_ To have you come to Forks to not only witness the case, but to hear our announcements would be greatly appreciated. I promise, this will not be something that you want to miss. Just between us, Maeve says that this is going to be big. Bitch won’t tell me exactly what is going to happen, but she hints that this is some world changing thing. It may be, but we will have to see for ourselves. _

_ Whether or not she is being dramatic does not matter much, as I must be there to lay out the law as I have been doing since my turning. It is the life of the immortal queen. It feels weird calling myself that, even if I am both of those things. The law will always be just under my ruling, that much I can assure. _

_ As always, blood will be offered after the trial, along with time to chat. This is more of a social thing, anyways. The law would be boring otherwise. _

_ Hope to see you there, _

_ Annalise Volturi _

__________________________________________________

_ To the French Coven, _

_ I have been given the honor to formally invite you to the trial of the Olympic Coven, led by Edward Masen and company. This trial is pending judgement, but we wished to have an announcement after it. We were planning it before, but once we heard of a potential immortal child, we had to act. It is one of our most basic laws, to think it has been broken. Justice has to be served. If they are guilty, that is. _

_ As I know that you are one of our oldest allies, it would be an honor to have you there. No, this is not a battle, simply a trial. Nothing more, nothing less. No innocent limbs will be torn off, I promise. _

_ It has been much too long since we have seen you. Unfortunately, we have had to close our walls for some time. After this announcement, that will be able to change. People will be able to visit once more after we conclude with this trial. _

_ No formal attire required. Casual setting. Newborns are allowed and are encouraged to come. _

_ I hope you will be able to come, _

_ Annalise Volturi _

__________________________________________________

With one last flick of my wrists, the two letters were done and ready to send. Having these people here with us would prove to be important to our success. More witnesses. The Volturi knew more people than Edward and Bella.  **_They wish to stand against you. They believe that you will kill the child._ ** _ Idiots, we only kill immortal children.  _ **_They also think that you are going to force them to join your coven via Chelsea and Corin, who could technically pull that off._ **

To have them think such ridiculous things about us just made me want to vomit. Why would I even think of killing a non immortal child?

_ Edward, Bella, Alice, you have a big storm coming. _


	44. For the Sake of Aro's Sanity

Sometimes I really did like to play with fire. What I was handling right now could not be told in any which way. No, this truly was the story of my lifetime. I was doing something that no other person had. We were about to fool the entire vampire community.

Who could say that they have done that?

I could either make it or break it. This was everyone’s first impression of me as a vampire. My coven knew how I layed down the law, but what of the rest of the world? They didn’t know how I operated. Nobody knew the inner workings of what made me tick.

Nobody but my mates.

The tension was building inside of the Volturi once again as we prepared for our march on Forks, Washington. Things were going to be different this time. We would have an audience waiting for us when we got there, ready to see the Volturi in action. Our allies would step in if it did turn violent. People aren’t allowed to attack during trials unless attacked first. The Olympic Coven would be stupid to think that we would break our own rules.

**_Alice is trying to play it like you are all going to attack. She can see that you will be coming. She knows the date. Her visions are still a bit blurry. Not only can she not see what exactly gets said, she cannot see everyone that is on our side. She thinks that we are coming alone, that there will not be any other covens to witness this. I do have to say that this may be because of me. I make sure that all of you are shielded against her the best that I can._ **

_ How do you shield me?  _ **_Let’s just say that I have a few tricks up my sleeve, Anna. I mean, I am here to make sure that you get the best possible outcome for you and your family. Alice has to choose for herself what the best outcome will be. It is her fatal flaw as she fixates on what one outcome could mean._ **

Maeve’s brief explanation still didn’t make much sense to me. She always sounded like she wasn’t even a part of my own mind, but a mind of her own. Had my gift really just made a split personality that somehow knew everything that I needed to know? I mean, Maeve didn’t have to tell me things. That information was hers to give. Yes, she almost always gave it to me, but she held the reins.

I had been trying to make sense of some of her cryptic messages, but I couldn’t for the life of me understand.

It didn’t matter right now. Right now I had to run a coven and prepare for the biggest fuck you in all of vampire history. We were going to make them look like morons in front of their friends and allies.

That is what happens when you mess with the Volturi. You may get out alive.

But your reputation won’t.

__________________________________________________

Figuring out how much blood we needed to get for the afterparty was quite the chore. Not only did we have to account for human blood, we would need to account for animal blood as well. Everyone would be invited to the party.

Well, everyone but Edward, Bella, and Alice. Their kid could come if she wanted to, but I doubt that Edward’s ego would allow him to let her have a good time with us.

Introducing this little girl to our son would be funny. I bet that with two gifted parents, the child would be gifted as well. I was about to burst little Bella and Edward’s bubble. If Helios wasn’t the first of his kind, he certainly was the first gifted Hybrid to ever grace the planet.

**_Guess what, Anna?_ ** _ What, Maevey?  _ **_Don’t call me that. Anyways, little Renesmee is gifted. She can also break shields, but only the mental kind. She can also relay thoughts and memories. Quite the opposite to Edward and Aro. You are right, they think that she is the only gifted hybrid of her kind. They found the other hybrids and are going to try and use them against you, citing that they can in fact live in harmony. Of course, Helios is actually the first gifted hybrid. And the second male of his species. Yeah, there’s only one other guy. Your little boy is more special than her little girl._ **

_ Caius is going to love to hear that our little sunshine is the best of the best.  _ **_The males are more likely to have venom as well. Bella’s daughter isn’t venomous at all. Helios is. It makes him physically stronger in so many ways. Renesmee would die if she were torn apart, but Helios would just be able to be put back together like a normal vampire._ **

“Cara mia, did you get the blood count?”  _ Speak of the devil.  _ **_He-I’m going to shut up now._ ** “We need to get that soon or else we could have a blood shortage at the party.”

“No blood shortages. I added a few more bags and even some O-. Who knows how much Emmett will be drinking,” My blonde mate nods, taking the clipboard from my hands. “Lots of alcohol that vampires can get drunk on. Nobody is going to go to the old Cullen house. The entire place is pretty quiet and in the middle of nowhere anyways.”

“I don’t think I’ve gotten drunk in centuries,” he muses. “Must have been back when Carlisle first joined the coven. We found someone with O- and put our alcohol in it. That’s when we all realized vampires could in fact get drunk. Aro...oh lord I can barely remember. The stuff that I do remember just wasn’t pretty. I think a few of the guards joined in the festivities. About half of us had gotten drunk for the first time and it was a mess.”

“You were the worst one of all, brother,” Marcus says. “Good lord, you almost exposed us that night. I am glad that I was too depressed to drink with you all. Who knows what I would have done. The only time I have been drunk was as a human.”

“I’ve never been drunk,” I admit. “Just never got into alcohol and stuff.”

“Of course not. You are much too innocent for drugs and alcohol. I would never think anything otherwise. Our innocent queen,” Caius wraps his arm around me while Marcus laughed in the background. “I would pay good money to see what you do while drunk, cara mia.”

“Aro would kill you, Caius,” Marcus warns.

“Always ruining my fun, that man,” my blonde mate mutters. “Who knew younger vampires did not know how to have a good time.”

“Did you just call  _ Aro _ young? He’s what, 3000 years old? Nearing like 3500 years at this point,” I point out.

“I’m more like 3500 years old. I don’t keep track. I mean, who would like to see 3500 candles. The dates are out of whack as well. I have no clue when I was born, but it certainly is not a time to celebrate for me,” I laugh.

“You are all old people with an 18 year old girl. What would people  _ say _ ?” Both Caius and Marcus let out cries of protest. “All of you are over 10000 years old combined. I’m 18.”

“I am physically 20, cara mia, that is three years older than the age when you were turned. Aro was turned at 23 and Marcus at 19. We are all not that much older than you in a physical sense. I doubt that anyone would notice on the streets that we are so far apart in actual age,” Caius tries to reason with me. “I would not wish for you to see me as some sort of  _ old man _ .”

“I second that,” Marcus mutters.

“My mates, you are literally older than my adoptive father. He’s going to be your father-in-law someday and you are older than him. Poor Carlisle, he remembers you for so long and then you go on to be with his daughter,” Caius lets out a hardy laugh. Marcus’ face pales even further, if that was even possible. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I think he just got  _ reminded  _ of something,” my mate laughs at his brother. “Come on, it is kind of similar.”

“We do not speak of that, Caius,” Marcus dismisses. “Lord, it is similar.”

“Poor Aro,” I was so lost.

“Yeah, make fun of me for it after the fact, brother.”

“Oh come on. You can’t expect me not to make fun of the fact that you literally married Aro’s  _ sister. _ ”

_ Oh. Oh. Oh yeah, he did. He married his sister. He was married to his sister until she got murdered by the Romanians. Wait. Aro had known Marcus for quite some time before they turned and then… Aro just…. My poor mate. They’re so close and… _

“Wait a damn minute,” I realize. “What did Aro do after you two got married?”

“Things were the  _ same _ ,” Caius roars with laughter. “Gift and all.”

“I don’t think I have ever seen Aro more disgusted in my life. He asked me to kill him right then and there. Said there was nothing that he could do to erase that image from his head. Immortal memories really have been the most painful thing for him. I mean, imagine seeing  _ everything _ and never being able to unsee it.”

_ My mate had to watch my other mate, his soul brother, fuck his biological sister after they got married. Marcus in bed...oh my god Aro’s sister. I mean, she did live the good life until she died but I’m just not gonna say that. Shit. Aro can hear this. Sorry Aro, your sister had a good sex life. I think you already knew that. Poor you.  _

“Poor Didyme,” I mutter.

“What do you mean, poor  _ Didyme _ ?” Aro rushed to my side as he heard my voice. “Why are we speaking about my sister?”

“Oh, just the fact that you had to see her and Marcus screwing,” Caius deadpans. I see Aro visibly fill with disgust at the mere mention of such a thing occurring. “With your gift and all, you must have seen some terrible things. I mean, we heard it, but you had to see it. From the state of our nest wall, I am guessing that she-”

“That is enough, Caius,” Aro stops him, visibly upset. He lets out a disgusted noise at the memory. “I want to die now. Thank you, Caius, now kill me-” he lets out another whine, likely remembering again. “I hate my life. I hate my gift. Take it away from me.”

“Poor you,” I pat Aro’s shoulder. “Marcus does treat his women-”

“I know! I know already! I see  _ everything _ , amore,” Aro kissed my cheek lovingly, taking in my latest thoughts and memories. “You know, I still hate my gift.”

“Don’t be like that, baby,” I take his hand, wiggling myself out of Caius’ grasp. “You may have had to watch your sister have sex with your best friend but at least you know it was good-” I stop myself as Aro squints at the mention of his sister.

“It..It is so bad...Marcus why did I let you marry my sister?” Aro poses the question. “I had to endure that for over 600 years and...lord it was not pretty.”

“How many times did we have to replace his walls?” Caius asks. “I mean, he broke them pretty regularly. Made of stone as well.”

“At least a thousand times a decade,” Aro says.  **_Had to be more than that. Way more. I mean, Marcus is more gentle with you right now, but you are in for a wild ride the second the real beast gets unleashed._ ** _ A beast? How beast-like are you talking?  _ **_Like, no human could survive. Your mate is actually insane. Don’t be worried, it will be amazing sex, but it will be...rough._ **

“Let us not dwell on the past, Aro,” Marcus suggests. “It is that, the past. Hopefully we figure out a way to erase that from your memory.”

“Please, for the sake of my sanity.”


	45. Immortally So

All of our effort during the day and night was put in making sure that the party was going to be a success and that Helios was comfortable. He would be meeting other hybrids for the first time and the last thing that I would want is for him to not feel good in their presence. As the first hybrid with a gift, and the second male hybrid ever, he would have quite a reputation to live up to. The Volturi were known for being quite dominating.

Our son has grown up with people that would not fit the descriptions of how other covens perceive us. Cold and sometimes cruel, other people did not know the real us that we only showed to our covenmates and a few of our close allies.

The Volturi were an unstoppable force. That did not mean that we were corrupt, just that we had enough power to wipe out the remains of a coven if truly necessary. I hoped that it would not come to a battle, but knowing who was on the other side, I couldn’t erase it from one of the many possible outcomes.

Preparations included getting a count of who was on our side. We knew that we had to not invite the people that they had on their side. It would make the surprise less worth it. Plus, they would tell Alice that she had seen things wrong and that other covens were in fact going to be there.

Alice’s gift being faulty right now would be their downfall. Maeve had made sure that she could not see the true outcome. How she had the power to do that, I had no idea. She wouldn’t tell me more about what exactly she was and how my own gift worked. Constantly dodging questions with information on the party and the other covens, I had stopped asking her. She clearly wasn’t going to tell me just yet. It was better to keep her happy.

Unfortunately, the existence of hybrids puts human women in danger. Joham would have to stop his  _ experiments _ with human women. Putting our kind in danger like that was ridiculous and the fact that three of these women had already died  _ before _ giving birth was a telling sign that vampires and humans still were not meant to procreate.

Now that the Volturi knew about the hybrids, his children would have less isolation from the rest of the vampire community. While neither here nor there, hybrids would have to follow the same laws as full immortals, since integration was impossible. Having the other fully grown hybrids could help Helios find some peace in what he is. Seeing all of his siblings as only half of him must be stressful.

Helios had stopped aging quite as rapidly, now at a steady pace. Yes, he was aging so much quicker, but it was not ridiculous. My son looked to be about eight and often clung to his siblings like glue. All of my mates had taken on the job of being his father. It was a job that they took very seriously. Caius had to get used to the little ball of sunshine, but now they were as thick as thieves, often finding themselves pulling pranks on Marcus and Aro, who did the same with the young child as well.

Having children of my own had always been a goal. A very far out goal, but a goal nonetheless. I had them before we got Helios. Jane and Alec were as much my children as Helios was and would always have that soul parent bond with me. The act of raising a child from the ground up had been taken by immortality, but with the birth of the prince I had gotten it back.

I grew up not having a home at all. There was no place in foster care that I felt like I was truly  _ home. _ Nobody adopted me and just passed me along every few years. In the physical aspect, I am an orphan. Whether or not my birth parents are alive remains a mystery, as Maeve refuses to tell me.

Joining the Volturi did not just give me a home, it gave me a new lease on life, and death. Immortality had changed me in more ways than physical. Yes, I was erratic, sometimes a fool, but I couldn’t just be flawless. Everyone had their own flaws. For some, they are simple, like being unpredictable or being a bit airheaded. For the rest of the world, their flaws define them, make them into people that you just don’t want to be around.

Isabella had become vain.

Edward had become self-righteous.

Vladimir had become cruel.

Stefan had become hating.

All vampires had their flaws put on display. We could not forget what we did to each other and forgiveness was hard. All we want to do sometimes is forget what happened so we can learn to forgive.

Letting things go had been what I was as a human but now that I was immortal I find myself closing in on the ties of hate. My memories had broken, all of my visions were blurred when I tried to think about my childhood. I thank myself every time I look back to read what I had written before I died and became a vampire. Yes, I did technically remember from the first time I had read it, but I got something different every time I read it over.

The first time I had read my letter to nobody and everybody, I was angry. I was so angry that so many people had hurt me the way that they had. Vampires often don’t know what made them so angry in the first place, their memories just as if not more fuzzy than mine. It was my theory on the vampire race: those who were “evil” were just hurt so badly in their human lives that their vampire selves just erased those parts during their transition. I knew that this was the case for Jane, who was considered one of the most cruel vampires in history. She was just a kid who was burned at the stake for something she couldn’t control.

The second time that I read it, I was hurt. My anger had subsided and my hurt showed through. To think that my best friends had turned their backs on me just because I was dating some people broke me. I couldn’t even cry. My heart, my damn dead heart, had dropped in my chest, my emotions flooding over me. There were no other people in my life but the Cullens and then the Volturi. I had known the Cullens longer and felt more of a connection. I longed for them to accept me as I was, even if it meant that I was the queen of the vampires.

The rest of the times that I had read the terrible writing I just felt like I had figured out one more thing. My world was finally starting to make sense. I had finally gained knowledge without Maeve. It was refreshing. No matter what I had done before, I needed Maeve to give me guidance.

I bet she felt like an accomplished mom sitting there in my head.

Things could get better, I knew that they could. I mean, things have always been able to get better. People change, I shouldn’t ever worry myself over it. People change.

Less of a change, more of a flip of a switch. Which side did I get?  
For the Volturi, I saw the good people who loved their coven and the law more than anything else. I had them as my covenmates, I was one of their leaders. They saw me as a mother, not a queen.

In Edward and Bella I saw the worst people and coven leaders. I would say that the Romanians were the worst, but they had been killed off. Except for Stefan. They might even bring him into the mix just to piss off my mates.

Stefan and Vladimir were the worst people I had ever heard of. Creating immortal children, having their servants impregnate a human woman.  _ Against her will. _ After all of that, they claimed that the Volturi were evil, irredeemable. Not only that, but I knew that Stefan had  _ murdered _ my mate’s sister, my other mate’s  _ wife. _ They had done it just to get back at them for winning the war and killing their wives.

They would always be the monsters in my eyes.

Monsters are made. Something had made them into monsters. That didn’t matter much, considering that immortals do not make 180 turns to their personalities. It is impossible for immortals to change that drastically, as they will always be stuck at one place in their lives. For me, I would forever be 17 and have the mind of a 17 year old. A traumatized and more mature 17 year old, but 17 years old nonetheless.

After making all of our lists for things to be brought to Forks secretly, I waited. A patient woman, I was not, but the level of dramatics we were about to pull would be worth every second I waited. They would never suspect for us to pull something like this on them. Everything about this was new. New species, new queen, new immortality, new eyes, new bonds, new guards, new people on the inside.

The Volturi had been made anew.

“I still can’t believe that some of these people would actually think us so corrupt as to wage a battle on people we do not want in our coven. I mean, look at Edward and Bella, they really think that we want them with us because of their gifts,” Aro rants. “They are terrible workers and they either brood or have too much energy. Alice would piss Jane too much to stay here. After all of the things she said, even if we used Chelsea, our daughter would rip her head off and throw it in the fireplace before she could predict it.”

“Jane does have quite the grudge against them,” I say. “Wouldn’t blame her.”

“I hate to say, but I would do the same to her if she even came near me. No gifts of mine will be used one her. To hear her speak poorly of you, it would make me lose control,” My mate admits. “Good lord, I heard her thoughts and memories after you first came. She couldn’t stop talking crap even then, saying that you couldn’t be good and be with someone like  _ me _ at the same time. It’s like they think that I’m such a terrible person to be mated to.”

I sigh. “You are a wonderful person to be mated to, Aro. Don’t let a pixie bitch make you think otherwise. I don’t know what I would do without you and your brothers. Die. I would die.”

“Dramatic as always,” he muses.

“Quite like the man I am mated to,” I retort.

“Ah, you have caught me, il mio amore,” I smile at him, sitting on his lap in our nest. “Such a smart mouth, I do have to say. The perfect match for us.”

“Your brothers do match me quite well, I do say. As do you, of course. How did I get to be mated to the three most attractive people in the universe? Must have done some good shit to be paired with you three.”

“Anna, you are our mates because we are perfect for you as well. It goes both ways. You make us feel whole in ways we never thought were possible. Even if we were not kings, being with you would be enough. We are happy that you accepted us and gave us a chance. Many would have listened to the pixie and the eternal brooder. Plus the damn siren whore,” I laugh at the insult towards my former friend.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call her that before.”

“I guess I will have to use it more often then. Siren whore, also known as Isabella Masen. The biggest pain in my ass since 2006.”

“It is still 2006, Aro.”

“She is still a pain in my ass, Anna. Immortally so.”


	46. The Biggest Joke of the Century

The future of the Volturi was on the line, that much was for certain. We would have to watch as we either made the biggest fools of Edward and Bella or made fools of ourselves. I still believed that the first would be what happened, especially with Maeve screwing with the little seer Alice, who had come to rely too much on her gift. Yes, gifts were a part of a person, but they were also their own form of a curse. Aro had to see his sister get screwed and Marcus had to watch as Didyme’s bond snapped, meaning that she was no longer alive, burned to ashes by Stefan.

If any of the Romanians were there, the ones that were not home while we annihilated their bases, we would destroy them in front of everyone. The world would know that messing with the law, our sanity, and our family, meant destruction. It was one of the only times where I agreed with just outright killing someone. Stefan had killed Marcus’ first love and Aro’s sister, he deserved a painful death.

I would allow my mates to kill them. As the people who loved her most, my two mates would be the ones to choose what would happen to the blonde vampire. An eye for an eye was what he would get. No trial, we had enough evidence to use lethal force.

Justice would be served for Didyme Volturi.

“Mamma, when are we going to leave for Forks?” Helios asks, tugging at my dress. His attempts to gain my attention worked. I turn my head to my little boy and smile.

“We shall leave when your daddies are done with the last few trials of the day,” I explain. “What are you doing, Heelie?”

My son had decided that it was time to wrap his entire body around my torso. While this sort of behavior was common from him, I didn’t expect him to do it while I was still  _ standing. _ I mean, he had used his enhanced senses and abilities to  _ super jump _ on my body, curling around me like a koala.

Eh, he was quite the cute little koala child.

“Whatever I want,” He sasses. “Right now I want food. Can we get food? When do we next feed? I’m hungry.”

Helios had started to feed with us. Although he was a bit young to be feeding off of humans, just drinking blood bags could only get him so far. His instincts told him to  _ hunt _ and to  _ feed. _ Who were we to take away that from him when he was fine with killing the human as well? I mean, he hasn’t shown any care, often saying that it’s the  _ circle of life. _

Why did I let Marcus show him that movie?

“We feed on  _ Fridays _ , Helios, you know that,” I use my stern motherly voice on him. “We can go get you a blood bag if you’re hungry. Or you can eat human food.”

“Mamma, human food doesn’t taste as good,” he complains, “I want  _ blood. _ ”

“I can get you blood, Helios, don’t throw a fit over the fact that you need to stay on our diet. I promise that this Friday you can feed. We will be back from Forks by then. We may do a hunt after Forks, so you may be able to hunt for the first time,” I say.

“Have you been hunting before?” I shake my head. “Have daddies?”

“Yes, they have. It used to be the only way that vampires could get blood. Immortals did not always have blood bags when they thought killing humans was wrong. Uncle Jasper and Emmett and Aunty Rose all used to feed from animals because they didn’t want to kill the humans.”

“Have you ever eaten an animal?” I cringe at the mere thought.

“No, I have and will never drink off of animals. Gross blood. I don’t know how they did it. I don’t know how my dad still does it. Can’t break an immortal habit, I presume.”

“Sounds awful. I would never want to hurt an animal,” Helios answers honestly, huffing on my chest. “What is going to happen once we get there? You and daddies haven’t told me anything other than to stay quiet. I don’t get why I have to stay quiet.”

“Once we get there, you will stay with big brother Afton. He can hide you until we are ready to reveal your existence. Nobody even knows that we have a hybrid child now. You are quite the rarity, Helios. Only a few hybrids exist in the world. Having a male hybrid who is gifted is unheard of. Nahuel is the only other boy,” I explain. “You must stay quiet because Afton can only shield your heartbeat and your body. Any sounds you make will still be heard and all of us have better ears. I will know if you are making a fuss with your brother.”

“I won’t be fussy, mamma, I promise.”

“Aw, you’re such a good boy, Heelie. I love you, my son,” I kiss his head as he fumbles around on my chest, moving up so he could kiss my cheek.

“I love you too, mamma.”

__________________________________________________

It was the last trial of the day. We would be leaving right after this. Thankfully this man was not from a coven and was simply a wandering nomad. He had been accused of knowingly hunting inside of the walls of Volterra. If he had committed the offense, it would be a fool. All vampires knew that Volterra was off limits, even the ones who had never heard much about our coven.

The vampire community knew their places while inside of these walls. We were hosts and they were guests.

It would be rude to eat inside of our territory.

Quite the man, Ivan just didn’t look like us. With his almost translucent skin, you could tell that he was a vampire. What made him look  _ human _ , was the fact that his eyes were almost black, a sign of near starvation.

As Marcus and Carlisle told me, it would take vampires many meals to come back from starvation. If a vampire starved long enough, their eyes would turn pink or light yellow depending on what lifestyle they had before their fast. To starve a vampire was cruel. Many had to many centuries ago in order to save themselves from persecution, hiding in underground bunkers with only their hunger to comfort them.

I was glad that humans thought of vampires as legends and myths. I would go crazy if I had to stop eating. Food had always been what kept me willing to live just a bit longer.

This kind of life had caused many vampires to learn control. It was either control or their immortal demise. I can see why they would choose the first option.

“Feeding inside of our walls,” Caius huffs, “Damn nomads. We told everyone to stay outside of Volterra and now you are breaking in and taking some of our people. What have we done to you, nomad? We have never even had you inside of our walls before.”

“It was an accident!” He cries out. “I didn’t mean to kill her!”

“That’s what they all say, nomad,” Caius dismisses his pleas. “Don’t be around humans if you do not have the ability to control yourself. You are not a newborn, that plea will not work here. I mean, come on, my mate is a newborn and she can control herself better than you!”

“You fed inside of our walls, Ivan,” Aro grabs his neck, “The law claims you.”

_ A long eternity this will be if people break such simple laws. _

__________________________________________________

Patience really was a virtue.

A virtue that I did not possess.

While we waited for everyone to grab their battle gear and cloaks, I simply was forced to stay with my son and Caius and  _ wait. _ The act itself made me annoyed. Even my son could not stave away the growing annoyance that plagued my chest.

It could have just been the newborn emotions, but I just wanted to get to Forks so I could piss off Edward and Bella. Hell, I was willing to leave early just to piss them off for a bit. Getting that kind of satisfaction was all that I wanted.

The two of them had made me  _ furious. _ My instincts were telling me to just kill them and get it over with. They deserved death after all that they had done, after gathering an army to go against their rulers. If we had any sanity we would execute them for even trying. Gifted or not, we had a shield breaker, someone who could fill them with fear, and someone who could bring them all pain through the person who can break shields.

Jane, Akila, and Harb had become the three most powerful vampires in the world without even doing much. Together, the three of them could do anything. Of course, Alec, Felix, and Demetri were nearly on the same level. With the two deadly trios, we had enough force to wipe out any potential threat to humanity and vampires.

Those who went against us didn’t care for the law. They also didn’t care about humans. Vampires know who leads them and that we have their best interests at heart even if they don’t personally like us. We have that sort of trust with the people.

A government without legitimacy with the people has no power. I mean, that was basic skills from AP World history class.

Was I the only one who took it? It clearly helped me in the long run. I didn’t think I would be becoming the queen of an empire of vampires, but what works, works.

“Will daddies be able to see me when we go?” I shake my head at my son.

“Not physically, but daddy Marcus will be able to see our bonds. He will know that you are safe and sound with big brother Afton. They will miss you while they cannot watch you with their own eyes, but it is for the best that you stay with your brother,” Helios nods, hugging at one of my arms. “Just listen to Afton and he will guide you. He may even be willing to give you a piggyback ride like yesterday.”

My son cheered and kissed my exposed arm, keeping his arms tightly wrapped around the pale skin.

“So when am I going to come out?” I laugh at the persistent questions posed by my ever curious little hybrid son. The little brown eyed boy had picked up on some of my own personality traits, finding joy in learning every little thing about whatever he could. It was quite fun to see my mates and my other soul children explain things to him. His fascination for learning had made him quite the snarky young one, often making jokes at the perfect times, breaking tension in rooms.

“You can come out of Afton’s gift when one of your daddies calls for you. One of them might come over to you. If they do, go with them. We don’t know exactly what is going to happen, but we know that we are going to have a big laugh,” Helios looks very confused at my last sentence, turning his head to the side.

“Is someone going to be telling a joke or something?”

“Oh, baby, the entire thing is going to be funny. It may be hard to not laugh when we ruin the reputations of the people who hurt grandpa and your uncles and auntie. It’s going to be very dramatic and I bet that your older brother will be cracking up the entire time. I do hope that he doesn’t expose us when he does so, his control over his gift is still in development.”

“So it will be a joke.”

“What will be a joke, Heelie?”

“The entire freaking thing.”


	47. Diaries are for Queens, Right?

**_I’m just warning you, Stefan will be out for blood now that your mates killed his soul brother. Those bonds are strong and he cared for his brother. When you go, he will be there and he will help the other side fight if you do start a battle. He will be destroyed, but I don’t even think he cares at this point. All he wants is revenge. He knows that Helios went missing, but he assumed that the child either died before Lana gave birth or that you knew about his existence and killed him._ **

_ Do you know who his father is? The biological father, that is.  _ **_He doesn’t matter. Already dead. Attractive and evil man. Helios doesn’t take after him at all. Had the same eyes as Lana and Helios when he was younger. Damn asshole._ **

I had been trying to figure out whether or not the Volturi already knew Helios’ biological father. Getting that information could help us when it came to figuring out how my son got a gift of his own.

Alas, Maeve would not hand over that information, citing it either unimportant or not good for us to know. The latter made me think that my mates  _ did _ know him, or of him at least. Nobody had commented on the matter when asked. Hell, my coven didn’t know who this guy was just on the basis of knowing Helios and his gift.

I shouldn’t care anyways, he’s dead and now Helios has three fathers. He seems perfectly happy with his family.

“Cara mia, here is the paper that you requested. I still do not see the reason why-” I cut my blonde mate off.

“Writing things down helps me understand. Having a perfect memory is only half of  _ learning _ from things. Plus, having these things written down as first hand accounts does make for an interesting read later down the line,” I explain. “Maeve thought it would be a good idea.”

“That voice of yours giving you new ideas of how to write a diary has got to be the oddest use of a gift I have ever seen,” he deadpans.

“A diary is not what I would call it,” I defer, “More like a jumbled mess of thoughts and things that have happened. I don’t write in it every day or every month or even every year, just when I find some things to say to whoever wants to invade my privacy.”

“Like Aro.”

“Most definitely like Aro. His gift-”

“Your gift is much more intrusive, cara mia,” he interrupts. I sigh, knowing that he was right.

“Let me write in peace, mate.”

“I’ll see you when you get finished writing in your  _ diary _ .”

__________________________________________________

_ Dear whoever reads this when I put it in my drawer, _

_ If there has been anything that these past few months as an immortal have taught me it is that time may seem like it is going by too fast, but it is in fact going much too slow. _

_ I have waited and waited and waited for this stupid fakeout to happen. Impatience is a curse. I wish that time could go by just a bit faster. Or at least have my guards grab their coats faster. Waiting for three hours because Jane cannot pick out a battle cloak has been a test to my very control as an immortal and as a mother. I love my baby girl, but if she does not pick soon I will do so for her. No complaints. _

_ My time here, really here, as a vampire has been short, but it feels like I have been here forever already. The people inside of these walls are the most interesting in the world. All of them have their own stories and ways that they got here. No person has the same gift, as is for all immortals, but some are very similar. _

_ A gift was not something that I thought I would get. Yes, I did think differently than most, but the way that my senses worked as a human could not prepare me for Maeve. Sneaky woman is likely watching me as I write this in my creepily perfect cursive. Thankfully being an immortal has improved that aspect of myself. Crappy handwriting would not look good on a queen. Looking back at my first letter to nobody in particular showed that. _

_ Having Maeve in my life has been quite odd. Thinking about something and then having her answer in some snarky way has still got me screaming internally, which she can also hear. I think she likes the fact that she scares me a bit. I’ve kind of become friends with her, but she holds a lot of power over me at all times. Yes, I could get all of my information myself, but that would take too long and would take a lot more reasoning and inference skills on my part. _

_ The gift of knowledge and weird companionship. What would we even call that? I cannot think of a word to describe my gift. Tactile telepathy and bondsight were so much easier than Maeve Access. I had Maeve Access. What an odd thing to have. Of course, I was the person to name the voice in my head like you would a pet. _

_ Ah, she is listening and she didn’t like the fact that I called her a pet. Quite the temper on this voice. Could never be me. _

_ That is until Edward and Bella Masen walk in the room. God I hate them so much. Not only did they dump me as a friend for being mated to my kings, but they also are plotting to kill us as we speak, training for a battle that will never happen. Who would I be if I killed a non immortal child? All I had was my integrity at this point. I would never kill a non immortal child. I couldn’t even be the one to kill an immortal child. Watching it happen is too much for me. Their arguments fall apart when you consider the fact that we want nothing to do with them at all. _

_ All arguments made against me by them just crumble. My people may not know me that well, but I think I made a good enough of a first impression for them to know that I know the law and will do my job in enforcing it. To think that their own queen would kill their child just makes them look paranoid and stupid. _

_ I guess both were true anyways. _

_ Alice, who can see into the future, has been fooled as well. She has no clue that our allies and friends from other covens will be coming to the trial as well. If they attacked, they would be faced with the rest of the vampire community. _

_ The people who don’t like us are almost always nomads who were turned on accident. These nomads have no respect for the law. People who don’t like us have either been accused of a crime or have actually been committing crimes that they would rather not be found out for. We couldn’t have stayed in power for this long if we were hated by everyone. People would band together and throw us into the ocean before finding us again and destroying us. Vampires can be crazy like that. _

_ I think that Jane has finally picked out that coat. I swear, that girl needs to get her priorities straight. _

_ Then again, we are making vampire history right now. _

_ Toodles Aro, Maeve, and whoever can see this right now, _

_ Annalise Volturi, Queen of the Volturi _

__________________________________________________

With Helios safely secure in Afton’s arms and under his gift, I knew that I was able to move forward. Afton actually looked like he was carrying a box in his arms instead of a child, which was quite funny. I mean, he was just carrying this  _ huge _ rustic box. I guess he had control of what it looked like he was holding. Quite the power of illusion indeed.

“Where do you want me to take him?” Afton asks me, making sure that most of the other guard could not hear. Practicing lower voices would be important in this battle and we would need to demonstrate what that looked like to Helios.

“Near the back. They will think you are holding things to make a fire with that box in your arms. I will be with my mates and the elite guard will be right with us,” I confirm. “Just make sure his feet don’t touch the water. Actually, make sure his feet don’t get  _ wet. _ He can still feel the effects of the cold.”

“Of course, mom.”

“A box?” Aro asks, looking at Afton and the ‘box’. “What is in that box?”

“This box is your  _ child _ , Aro,” he snarks, “Good to know that my gift fooled you. It means that it will fool them well enough if they can’t even notice that the Volturi seal is nowhere on this box. Gah, that thing is way too hard to recreate.”

“Damn. You can work on that later, Afton, for now keep my boy safe in your arms. I am not expecting any battle, but if one does break out you  _ leave _ with Helios and you don’t let anything happen to him. That  _ box _ is worth more than anything to me,” my mate looks to me, “And you, il mio amore. You are tied for most importance.”

“Glad to know you’re still thinking of me, amore,” I kiss his cheek before waving goodbye to Helios the box. I could not see him, but I knew that he had waved back at me.

**_I managed to fool Alice into thinking that she would win a battle. Since I made sure that she couldn’t see the spectators, she really thinks that she can win without any support from Jasper and all of her former covenmates. She’s delusional. Alice’s foresight can be toyed with, making her less valuable and very unreliable. Hell, Harb’s gift could blind her a bit, since she would see her fear of what could happen. Relying on your gift this much can not be good for any vampire. Even Aro does not rely on his gift this much and his gift is more reliable than hers._ **

_ Good to know, Maeve. Will Helios be revealed nicely?  _ **_That will depend on what you say. Make sure that you piss them off enough to attack once. If you do that, it will be Bella that attacks you. She will be useless against you, as you have more bodyguards than she could ever dream of. Not only that, but she will make a fool of herself in front of everyone._ **

_ Do you know what people will think of the other covens?  _ **_No, I cannot see that. Though, Alice is surprised and Edward is angry. Those are the only two people I can read at the moment. Remember, my vision of what could happen is just like Alice’s, it can be changed. I will keep you updated, but right now the future is pretty clear. Emotions are hard to read. Unless you clearly see hugs and kisses or scowls you don’t really know._ **

Maeve was right, emotions of vampires were sometimes hard to read. After so many years of life, they had learned how to become one person in front of someone and another to someone else. Poker faces were easy to pull. Our faces were always stone cold, a facial expression to match would be no problem.

Things today would be far from easy. The way that we played this out would make sure that we either ruin ourselves or the people who hurt us. We needed the latter. My coven would not stand embarrassment from people as vile as Edward and Bella, who dared insult people who had given them second chances.

People were wrong about the way that the Volturi worked. We did give second chances. We gave them out quite often and to people who deserved it. There was one thing that my coven never gave to anyone.

The Volturi did not give third chances.


	48. Two Millenia of Torture Planning

Our arrival went unnoticed by all of the locals. Many of the cities that we had to sneak through didn’t care to notice that about a hundred people were travelling through the area at high speeds. The fact that we are all wearing black coats also doesn’t help.

While it was quite dark out today, we still did have to stay out of the sun. Staying in alleyways did help us get around, as many of the large cities all had connected alleyways. We were lucky that no low end people or criminals were chilling inside of them. That could have been a mess waiting to happen. A bunch of people missing and connected in LA would not make for a good impression on our part.

The town that I once found some comfort in felt drier than ever. Even with the cloudy skies and the snow, the place was a desert of old and fractured memories. Many of the people who had lived here betrayed me in ways I never thought possible.

Speaking badly about me was one thing, creating an army to attack the people I loved was another. The latter was unforgivable. Edward, Bella, and Alice may not die today, but they will never be allowed to step into Italy or into any gathering we have. Our social events will not involve them. To us, they won’t exist.

Until they break the law, that is.

Quite a few laws concerning people attending trials would have to be made after this. First of all, limiting three witnesses per defendant. Likely we would make sure that these witnesses were from one coven and not just one from three different covens. Nomads would count as a coven, as they are alone. That makes maybe seven of these people able to come in the end. The Olympic coven maybe had four members left and yet they were able to grab about thirty vampires.

Things would be changing after this trial. No more division like this. If you have personal ties to a defendant, you are not allowed to watch like we would have other covens do. I mean, they would try to pull some  _ but you have witnesses as well _ bullshit.

There, plothole fixed with my own damn venom.

**_Stefan wants a fight._ ** _ Damn, Maeve, what’s new?  _ **_Nahuel and Huilen want to protect the young Masen girl and are being manipulated into thinking that the Volturi will try to destroy Nahuel if they don’t fight against their rule to kill Renesmee. Ridiculous, you haven’t made a ruling yet. What the hell are they even playing at anymore?_ **

_ Did Alice see any of your faulty visions? She may be using that to her advantage. I mean, you did make it seem like we were coming in for the kill.  _ **_I blocked her._ ** _ What do you mean you blocked her?  _ **_Her visions, I blocked them entirely. She can’t see you or any of your family members until I will it so._ **

After everything that Maeve was supposedly able to do, blocking Alice shouldn’t have seemed surprising. No shocker. The problem was that it was a shocker and I was surprised. Doing something like that, having a damn  _ voice  _ inside of my head be able to block another person’s gift, it was confusing.

Whatever Maeve was, I knew that she was powerful.

**_They haven’t noticed our presence or our scents. Alice is confused on why she cannot see what is about to happen. She thinks that either you aren’t coming until sunset or you have found a way to block out her powers. Hah, it wasn’t Anna, hoe, it was me._ ** _ That it was. Though at least she is smart enough to know when her powers could be failing her. What else do you see, Maeve? _

**_Currently Jacob is reluctantly on their side. Pure guilt tripping, I promise. He hates Edward and Bella and actually considers just taking Renesmee and leaving. Poor guy, having to imprint on a child. Not his fault, though, those kinds of things can’t be helped. Anyways, the young girl doesn’t really care about what is about to go down, she just doesn’t want to have a fight. Cute little thing, but Helios is prettier. I mean, she kind of looked creepy as a baby. Helios just looked so cute when he was smaller. Kind of wish he were human just so we could have that for longer._ **

_ Have her gifts manifested further?  _ **_No, not really, for the most part she can communicate via touch and break mental shields. Not very powerful, but it is quite odd that she has two gifts. Like Heelie._ ** _ My son has two gifts?  _ **_You haven’t noticed? Quite like Aro’s sister, Helios has the ability to make people happy. It isn’t induction, but it is more like a way that he interacts with people. Their bonds light up and bring them happiness. He can’t see the bonds and doesn’t have much control over it._ **

Marcus hasn’t told me anything about our son’s bonds. Then again, we had been quite busy worrying about this ‘battle’. Time to ourselves would be hard to find. Aro would have been able to notice through Marcus’ memories.

The two of them were just thick, I guess.

Our two sides would now face off. They had not noticed us, but I had been able to see them gathering for about half an hour. Other hybrids had joined them, Nahuel’s sisters.  **_Serena, Maysun, and Jennifer. The last one is actually younger than you, believe it or not. She is matured, but still young. I think you would like her. She is like the only sister Nahuel likes. Joham is not here. I don’t like him. Scientist or not, he basically murders women by getting them pregnant with his spawn._ **

I couldn’t disagree with Maeve, what he did was borderline murder. Of course the Volturi didn’t have any laws against doing such things.

We might need to change that soon. Too many hybrids would be a problem. Possible regulations may need to be set in stone after the trial. I mean, these hybrids are great and all, but what would happen if one of them were found by a human after their birth? If someone was not there to care for them before and after the birth, it could become an issue of exposure.  
Some of the other vampires there were unrecognizable. Many had red eyes, but a few did have golden eyes just like the Olympic Coven.

One coven that I did recognize was the Denali Coven where Irina had come from. All of them fed from animals and were quite peaceful according to Maeve. They just wished to protect the child, not kill the Volturi or go against us. In the end, they were going against us based on their fears of our potential amorality.

I could respect that.

“Cara mia, that’s a lot of people,” Caius whispers, fixing his coat. Quite a few more people than I was expecting. People were here to defend the child and prove themselves witness to the fact that she was not purely immortal and had never been turned by another vampire. To do so would be illegal, an immortal child, that of which she was not.

Little do they know, we already know that.

“We will be fine, amore, they don’t know the real reason why we are here. Do not punish the Denali’s, they only wish to protect an innocent hybrid child,” I whisper right back.

“Of course, cara mia, but I am worried that they may attack us first. I mean, look at them all. Stefan is right there and looks ready to kill us all. What an idiot. This fight could be one that we were not expecting.”

“Whatever Stefan wants, he will not get,” Aro buds in, voice low. “By the time that he could even get a chance to see what is really happening, his head will be in the fire I plan to set for him.”

A wicked smile is plastered on my mate’s face. Stefan had been the one to kill Didyme, his baby sister. He had murdered her right in front of Marcus, who was unable to stop him.  _ You will be avenged, Didyme, I promise. I know that you can’t hear me, but I will make sure that your death was not in vain. The Romanians will be put to death. They will never be able to hurt children or women anymore. _

“I do suspect that I will get to play a part in that little plan you have cooking up, brother,” Marcus had come to his brother’s side. “Maybe we can get Jane to have some fun with him. Make the death painful.”

“Such good ideas from you today, Marcus,” Aro praises.

“Two millennia of good ideas from me, brother. What he did to her will never happen to anyone again if I have a say in it.”

“Ideas of revenge do sound like a good way to pass your time as an immortal. He will pay, we will make sure of it. No matter what happens with the Olympic Coven and their allies, the man who took my sister and your wife away from us will pay the price. Stefan’s sins will not go unnoticed.”

“Didyme deserved so much better.”

“That she did. Out of everything I regret, making sure that she stayed protected with our entire guard, no matter how small at the time, will be my greatest regret.”

“I should have done more.”

“What choice did you have, Marcus? They held you down while they...killed her. You did everything that you could have done. You gave her the best immortal life that she could have dreamed of. I do hope that she is in a better place now. She was not born to be a killer. My sister was good in all regards.”

“What we would all do to speak to her one last time,” Caius mutters. “I think that we can all agree that we miss her dearly.”

“I do wish that she got to see Anna,” Aro gives me a weak smile, “Or Helios, or Jane and Alec. Lord, she would have spoilt them to bits if she were here. I think she always did want a child of her own. Adopted, she never wanted to go through pregnancy. Too risky, I think I knew that too well.”

“No matter what happened or what she did or didn’t get to see, she can be at peace knowing that you three have your mates and have coven children of your own,” I kiss each of my mate’s cheeks.

Even if I did not know Didyme, I knew just how much she meant to the coven. Marcus had been destroyed after he lost her. While Aro did not show it, her loss did still leave a hole in his heart that not even I could fill with my own love.

I had no siblings. No known siblings at least. I did not know what it felt like to lose someone that close to you. The worst I had gone through was when I was separated from my friend in foster care. Her time had been up and she went back with her abusive parents.  _ I wonder how Lorelei is doing right now. God, I haven’t talked to her since before I turned. She must know that I’m missing by now. She wouldn’t think that I had died. No, I always did want to leave America and go somewhere else, somewhere I could find to call home. _

Before my mates I didn’t have family or a home. God, before them I didn’t even have a strong will to live. My capability to keep myself alive and healthy just was lacking at that point in my life. Now I have everything, but things are not normal yet. No, things would not be anywhere near normal until after this trial.

Taking one step onto the snow, I bring myself one step closer to normality.


	49. The Show

For the first twenty steps I was sure that the opposing side was unable to see us. Once we reached fifty I knew that their eyesight was failing them. Only when we did hit the seventy step mark did the group of defendants see us.

The look on Alice’s face when she realized that she did not see us coming was one that will be ingrained into my memory for all time.

None of our own witnesses had come yet. No, they would wait until we made our first statements, lingering in the background. Many of our own would have let the word slip that we did not need them there for the first few minutes because the defendants did not know that they would be coming.

All of it had been planned out so perfectly. I looked so delightfully  _ evil _ in my stance, my pitch black cloak trailing after me, my covenmates not far behind. With my mates at my side, I stop at a good place in the snow, allowing some of the snowflakes to hit my head. The tiny snowflakes added some contrast to the midnight cloaks.

Our cloaks all matched in some way, although none are exactly the same. It was a shame that the outfits on the other side did not match.

I did have to give some props to the other hybrids for correctly matching themselves. It made it so much easier to spot them when they all look so beautifully aligned, even if Nahuel disliked most of them.

Poor Renesmee stood with her father, who just looked plain angry with us.  _ Maybe he’s upset that we have better outfits. Come on, Edward, the Volturi always show up in stylish clothes that will make an impression for the next century and a half. Get with the program. _

We all stood there for a few minutes, waiting for them to take their stances. Lord, they should have known how to act in a trial. You always approach the royalty after they walk towards you. Simple hints, so simple.

Edward was the first one to walk, an almost shaky walk. He may have been angry, but there was always one thing that would outweigh his anger.

His fear.

“You don’t need to be here. We haven’t committed any crimes,” his voice was calm and monotone, although I could hear the fear hidden behind his indifference. 

Those words did nothing to stop us. Aro let out a small chuckle, one that sounded more threatening than anything. Not his usually maniacal laughter. No, this was laughter that would haunt your nightmares when you just wanted dreams.

“Quite the arsenal,” Caius comments. “Were you planning on a coven meet up after trial? I didn’t know you had any friends you could bring along. Usually the brooding alone type of guy, aren’t you?”

“What would you know about  _ friends, _ Caius?” Edward sneers, his calm demeanor suddenly falling back to his anger. He had to cover up that fear of his with anger because if he allowed himself to be afraid of us, Edward’s ego would be shattered. We all know how much he cares about that fragile ego of his.  _ You always did complain when anyone wanted to be friends with you, and claimed that they wanted to be near you for your beauty. I don’t get how anyone could find you attractive. _

“A lot more than you realize considering that I have been friends with my brothers for over three millennia. You do learn quite a lot about kinship with soul siblings. Though I don’t think you have any of those. What a shame,” Caius fake pouts at him before rolling his eyes.

Edward looks at me and then stutters, “I-I can’t read you.”  **_You’re welcome, babes._ **

Oh, what he cared about most. His  _ gift _ that had only ever been known to fail with Isabella now failed with me _ , the person he hated most. _ What a turn of events indeed. Just like Alice not being able to see me or my coven, Edward was now unable to read anyone. He was really rendered  _ useless. _

“Ah, our  _ best friend _ ,” I coo fakely at him “I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, Masen, you have no idea how deep you have gotten yourself this time.”

“Nobody is able to beat my gift!” Edward exclaims. “The only person who is able to beat me is Bella and that’s because she is a shield! You aren’t a shield and you never will be!”

_ Hit a nerve, didn’t I?  _ **_He’s making a fool of himself now. The other covens don’t like the way he is speaking to you. They always did respect royalty and the women inside of the castle, even when they hated Sulpicia and Athenodora._ **

“Becoming nobodies, are we?” Aro jokes, giving him an evil smile. “Go back and get your people ready for the trial and we will get ours. I do hope you don’t mind a few  _ witnesses. _ ”

The telepath looked back at Alice, who almost looked teary-eyed as Aro announced the visitors. She had not seen this. For once her gift had been  _ wrong _ , fooled by Maeve as a distraction. First, we had blocked her and then Maeve had rendered Edward’s telepathy useless. Our thoughts are our own and should not be looked through by the likes of a man who has no sense for privacy.

It was the difference between Aro and Edward. My mate always asked permission before looking through new people. They knew what he was going to see. Edward just looked through their minds and didn’t care if he invaded them in that way. For both humans and vampires, our minds are private. The things we think  _ inside _ are what makes us  _ different _ . One may seem nice on the outside and be a bitch on the inside.

Just like Bella, who Edward was unable to read.

“You brought  _ people _ ?” Aro smirks and nods. “Why?”

“Just like you, we have people we need to see right now. I don’t think that this is very relevant to our current topic of discussion. Do as we say and  _ go get your people ready for trial _ , Masen,” Marcus looks more bored than ever, standing next to me and rolling his eyes at Edward just as his brother had.  _ And next time, make sure that they wear better clothing. Some of these people look too old in their clothes. Come on, you have to live out of the century that you’re in, not the one that you’re from. _

Oddly enough, Edward did what Marcus asked of him, running back to his wife and the group, who had heard everything and were beyond confused.  _ Hah, stupid bitches.  _ **_I agree._ ** _ Except Nahuel and his sisters.  _ **_Exactly._ **

The way that they all started walking at different paces just  _ pissed me off. _ None of them were in a line like we needed them to be. That was how trials were conducted, in a line of people, most important in the middle and least important on the outer edges.  _ Except for Heelie and Afton. They’re like the most important but right now Heelie is a box. A pretty box, but a box nonetheless. _

Bella gave her daughter over to Jacob, her imprint, and walked with Edward back up to us.

“So are we going to get this over with or am I going to have to threaten you into getting into the correct line? If you believe us to be here for attack, at least have some decent stances,” I complain, ready to go to the party and hang out with my mates and son already. “Mismatched outfits as well. At least Nahuel and his sisters know how to do things,” I turn to them in the crowd. “You guys are doing great with those outfits!”

I could see all of the hybrids in that area blush scarlet at my compliment. I always had been quite the charmer myself.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Bella questions me, giving me a disgusted look. “You come here looking for the battle! All we wanted was to raise our daughter in peace-”

“Here we go,” I cut her off, rolling my eyes once more, “The bitch thinks that she has the right to speak. Hush, honey, the royals are talking.”

Bella shrieked in anger like a child as Aro started to speak. “A trial like this one is needed. To be accused of creating an immortal child is a grave sin. Either you did do it or you must have done something quite harsh to deserve such an accusation on your part. Our trials must be done quickly and properly at the moment, as being here for longer than possible goes against our own self interests.”

“You will state your defense and allow us to see through your memories. It is either that or we bring back the original witness, Irina, who was the one to come forward with this accusation after seeing a child with inhuman abilities in your midst. Right or wrong about what Renesmee is, she had the right to come to us, as such a child would seem to be that, immortal,” Marcus says calmly.

Out of the corner of my hearing and eyesight, I could see and hear Helios starting to fuss a tiny bit. Afton made sure that he was secure, but the poor baby was likely hungry and wanted to see more of the trial since his big brother was so far away from his parents.

“Anyone who wishes to see the trial as it commences may come out now,” Caius waves his hands towards the covens of immortals that had started coming closer to the trial. “Lovely to have you all here. Refreshments after the trial will be divine.”

Everyone who had come to our aide smirks, knowing that if Caius thought one of these social outings was going to be good, it likely was.

“Ah, we haven’t done something like this in too long,” Aro muses, watching as many from the other side tense in their stance.

“Yeah, you haven’t come somewhere to kill a coven and take a few of their gifted members in a while, Aro. We know what you are here to do. Let the world know what you are here to do, they’re all here and listening,” Edward spits at my mate, his words laced with venom and loathing.

“I do believe that I came here for a trial,” Aro counters.

“Simply what we are here for, Edward,” Marcus confirms.

“Who said we were here for anything else?” Caius asks. “Don’t think we have been invited to any coven killing party. Do they even have those? Oh, let me guess,  _ you _ are about to create one! Such a splendid idea for someone who sounds so sordid! Enough moping and get around to  _ killing _ your own kind! Oh, you would love that idea, wouldn’t you?”

Quite a few of the vampires in the audience cackle at Caius’ joking comments. Our allies knew just how damn dramatic my mate could be when he needed to be, which was likely always considering how big of a drama queen he is on a daily basis.

“That does sound like something that  _ you _ would do, not  _ me.  _ I don’t kill people who disagree with me and my way to eat.”

It was that comment that really got to Aro, as he started to let out his maniacal laugh. I don’t think he could even stop it as he tries to compose himself. It took my mate quite some time to come back from the brink of hysteria.

“Is that not exactly what you were about to try to do to us?” Edward’s face pales. “Killing us just because we don’t particularly like you and because we eat our natural food source? Please, Edward, hypocrisy does not suit any vampire.”

My former friend’s face was stone cold, his power cut off from him as Maeve shielded us from him. How she did it to multiple people, it did not matter.

Standing in a form of my own power, I take one last unneeded breath.

“Let the show begin.”


	50. A Grand Entrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is near....

Pushing back against my own feelings had always been a struggle for me. Standing in front of me were the people that I wanted dead more than anything else. Their daughter meant nothing to me, but my own fury would not harm her. A parents actions should not imply that a child is the same way. I knew that from personal experience.

I was no deadbeat and I was no druggie.

“Here we are today, gathered for the trial of the century. I would like to make my first big decision right now on this snowy ground,” I begin, allowing all of the pent up anger and stress to sit with me for a second before I let it release through my own unnecessary breathing. “To be without our laws would be without the small shed of humanity we have left. That humanity leads us to our own control over our bloodthirsty ways. All of us can push back against our own tendencies to grow in the end.”

All eyes were on me, waiting patiently to hear more. I could see just out of the corner of my eye Alexandros with his coven, a smirk adamant on his face, bringing its own source of light to the snowy grounds.

“While our bodies may be set in stone, our minds still have the ability to develop, to manifest in ways that we never thought possible in the confines of mortality. Individual traits are not what make us, it is our actions and the way that they affect the people around us,” It was such a clear blow to Edward and the way that he treated me, but nobody but my own coven knew that.

“The kings and queen of promise is what we all need at a moment like this. So many can claim themselves a ruler, but only when it comes to the most callous of decisions does a true leader show through. I may only be a newborn, but so many of you remember times when tyranny reigned supreme. The Romanians,” Stefan snarled, “The American Revolution, the world wars, and the French Revolution,” the French Coven smiled. “At these times only those who wished for a better life fought back against the oppression of the rule of law.”

“You are a tyrannical queen, Annalise Volturi,” Edward spat in my face. Many of the other vampires in the background gasped and glared at him.  _ You see, Masen, I have already gained the hearts of the people. What do you have but your claims of my own corruption?  _

“If I was a tyrannical queen, Edward Masen, I would have already had you beheaded for treason against your royalty,” I countered.

“Without us, there was chaos.”

History books littered the halls of Volterra, finding themselves in the arms of a girl who wanted to know about what had made her coven, a queen who needed guidance on how to create unity in a species that she knew little about.

Quite good things, libraries.

“To propose a coup of our power right now would not only be foolish, but laughable as well,” Everyone on the opposing side froze at my words. “We did not come here for battle, but if I must wage war against you I will, killing anyone and everyone who attempts to come in between my coven and my children. Your lies and deceit will show no longer, as I do believe that we know the  _ truth _ about you, Edward Masen.”

“My daughter is not an immortal child!” he exclaims in hysteria. My mates and I chuckle at his lack of composure during his own trial.  _ Just like criminals when they get caught. Although you are not here for treason, I would love to rip off your head and burn it in front of everyone. _

“Submit your evidence,” Edward looks shocked.

“What do you mean  _ submit my evidence _ -” I cut him off.

“I just told you that this is a trial and you expect us to just make a ruling without giving you a chance to submit your own evidence?”  _ Quite laughable. _

“I-I,” Edward turns to Bella, who starts to walk to our side of the field.

The young girl that she had given birth to was quite small compared to my son, as was to be expected with the age difference. Her brown hair and eyes were just like that of her mother’s, basic but bold, contrasting her pale skin quite nicely. Although I did not like her parents, Renesmee did not seem fond of the fact that her mother was gripping onto her so tightly, almost dragging her to our side.

Aggression laced Bella’s newly gold eyes, those pools of hatred sending daggers into my own crimson ones.

“She isn’t immortal,” Bella states, “She is  _ half vampire  _ and  _ half human _ .”

Well, of course we knew that already. For one, Jacob had told us. Did she think that Maeve wouldn’t tell me something like this? Her reasoning skills clearly were lacking.

Of course, she also was the one who got with Edward in the first place.

“Feel her body heat,” Oh yes, the amazing body heat that came off of the hybrids. It could warm me forever without making me hungry.

I stepped forward and put my hand on Renesmee’s cheek. Hot to the touch, just like any human child. A winning look filled Edward’s face as I hummed, knowing what I was to expect.

“You have no right to be here anymore, the trial is over,” Edward orders us away. All of the other covens straight up laugh in his face, my own included.  _ Really did make a fool of yourself there, Edward, not even knowing how proper vampire trials work. I guess dad never thought he would need to teach you this since he would never break the law himself. What you got back in Volterra was just a warning, a chance to fix your own behavior before my mates ripped you apart and threw you into the furnace. _

“Does he not even know how a trial works?” Alexandros’ booming voice calls our attention to his own coven, who were snickering behind him. “Such a shame!”

Many of his covenmates muttered  _ shame _ under their breath.

“Edward, you are in no position to end a trial,” I explain fakely. “Such poor manners.”

“Still, you have no right to be here if-”

“I can be wherever I want whenever I want,” I snark. “In fact, you have no right to Forks. Carlisle is the one who owns the territory with his residence here. Have you been squatting in his house?”

Many of the other covens giggle as I rip into him.

“Such a lack of respect for my father,” I act almost teary eyed, “And here you are, calling yourself a gentleman and a moral man. What have you done that is so moral? Died a virgin, perhaps?”

It was such a low blow, but he deserved it.

“I mean, look at you,” I wave up and down, “No wonder you couldn’t get some as a human.”

“Look at yourself,” Bella sneers, “Sleeping with three men at once-”

My mates let out a snarl, causing her to step back and whimper at the sign of aggression. Bella may have been able to talk shit, but she was a coward who couldn’t fight back against three angry ancient kings of Volterra.

“Aro, Caius, and Marcus are my  _ mates _ ,” I take a long pause before stepping closer to her and her daughter, “You may have waited for marriage, but you didn’t wait for your  _ mate. _ Edward is not your mate and will never be your mate. That poor soul is somewhere out there and you will start to die if you reject them, your soul literally withering away as you try to cut the bond. It is your lifeline, and yet you poison yourself and Edward’s souls by being together in such a manner.”

“Our love is bound for  _ life _ ,” she argues.

“No, it is not,” Marcus speaks up, “His soulmate, you are not. Do not  _ harass _ mine or else you will find yourself without a tongue to speak your filth with.”

Bella let out a hiss before I started up my monologing again, ready to make the largest announcement of eternity.

“Since she is a hybrid, we will need to make sure that she does not expose us,” Bella looks angry at the mere thought of any rules being placed for her.  _ This is what happens when you have a mother who never gave you rules and let you do whatever you want. Spoiled brat. _

“You can’t-”

“She can,” A member of Alexandros’ coven yells at her, “Now shut the fuck up cause I’m enjoying the show.”

Alexandros definitely had influenced that one.

“Renesmee will be cut off from all humans during her time of growth and her grandfather will not be able to see her until she is 18 years old. No, not until she is full grown, until she is  _ 18 years old. _ We cannot risk your father being exposed to us like that. As much as I love Charlie and think he deserves better than you, he can not be put in this,” Bella lets out a cry of protest, holding her daughter tightly.

“You can’t do something like this!” Edward shouts, “Charlie will want to know-”

“It is either that or we kill all of you to protect the rest of us,” I motion to the vampires around me, “This is for the safety of the entire vampire community. One man, one  _ human man _ , does not get to dictate what is best for our immortal selves.”

“My mate is being very reasonable. Charlie Swan already knows too much, but we are giving it a pass as long as the wolf pack does not further expose any humans. This rule goes to you as well. Humans who know will either turn or be killed. I am afraid that there is no other option,” Aro reasons. “As much as this is hard for you it is what is in your father-in-law’s best interest.”

“You can’t take Charlie away from us,” Bella says, “I won’t let you do this to us.”

“Oh, what  _ will _ you do? Attack me like your mate did? Does Anna have to  _ beat you _ like she beat him? In front of your own  _ daughter? _ Exposing her to this kind of violence at this young age, hybrid or not, will damage her,” Caius says.

“What does someone like  _ you _ know about  _ children _ ?” Edward questions my mate, who keeps his poker face.  _ More than you, buddy. At least I don’t grab onto my kid like he’s a damn toy to play with. Come on, Bella, you’re a newborn but you also need to be gentle with your daughter. _

“I think that our mate should give the announcement that we planned,” Marcus suggests, putting himself in between Caius and Edward, who were glaring at each other.

“Ah, yes!” Aro claps his hands together, “I do think it is time for our queen to announce our good news. It is time for everyone to know the reason that we have not had any visitors in Volterra for six months now. Lord, it has been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Giving my mate a warm smile, I clear my throat.

“I think we have been a bit  _ sneaky _ with this one. Just wait a moment and I will get it,” the vampires around me look confused, but patiently wait for me.

Moving my feet quickly, I make my way over to Afton, whose  _ box _ is rumbling around. My son hissed at Helios, who was making a fuss inside of his gift. Taking the box in my arms, I finally get to see under the gift, feeling my own son in my arms.

Bringing my arms and Helios out of Afton’s gift bubble, I turned back to the crowd of vampires whose jaws had dropped.

“I do think it is time for you to meet my son.”

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....Yes, this is the end, but with the end comes great chance for creativity. This book has a sequel called Distilled Dreams. Check it out once I've posted it. I hope you enjoyed this book!


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